Domestic Monetary Policy

The Financial Services Committee plays an important role in shaping the nation’s “macroeconomic” policies – interest rate, budgetary, and regulatory policies that affect the general performance of the economy and the economic well-being of all Americans. The Committee’s oversight function for macroeconomic policy is highlighted twice each year when the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board delivers the Monetary Policy Report to the Congress. Democratic Committee Members have used these hearings to highlight the economic status of middle and lower income Americans, calling attention to federal policies that affect their economic well-being, whether through the federal minimum wage or the response of mortgage rates to monetary policy actions.