Patrick McHenryChairman

Washington, December 11, 2013 - Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee Chairman John Campbell (R-CA) today announced the “Federal Reserve Centennial Oversight Project” – an aggressive series of hearings during 2014 that will culminate with the development of legislation to reform how the nation’s central bank operates.

The committee held five oversight hearings of the Federal Reserve and its conduct of monetary policy during 2013. Chairman Hensarling pledged that the committee will “intensify and amplify” its oversight throughout the coming year.

“The Federal Reserve Centennial Oversight Project will be the most vigorous and sustained assessment and evaluation the Fed has received in its history,” Chairman Hensarling said. “Our committee has an obligation to carefully scrutinize the Federal Reserve’s decisions, especially since the Fed has either implicitly or explicitly assumed so many mandates and has, historically, been subject to little or no congressional oversight.”

 Subcommittee Chairman Campbell said, “While Chairman Bernanke has taken important steps to increase transparency and accountability in the last several years, the Federal Reserve’s current policies contain a number of potential risks to our economy that remain unaddressed. The hearings planned by this committee will thoroughly examine the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and develop legislation to enact needed corrections in order to maintain confidence and certainty in our central bank.”

The committee’s Federal Reserve Centennial Oversight Project will include hearings and research studies examining a number of areas, including the Fed’s multiple mandates; its role in the explosion of the national debt; the central bank’s accountability and transparency; the Fed’s blurring of the lines between monetary and fiscal policy; the Federal Reserve’s independence; its role as lender of last resort; and the impact accommodative monetary policy has on seniors and those nearing retirement.

The Oversight Project coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Fed’s creation later this month, as well as the expected Senate confirmation of a new Federal Reserve chairman.