Press Releases

Subcommittee Looks At Impact Federal Reserve Has On Hardworking Americans


Washington, June 28, 2017 -

WASHINGTON – The Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee held a hearing today to evaluate how Federal Reserve policies are adversely affecting households, small businesses, savers, and retirees, and consider policy opportunities that the Federal Reserve could implement to improve economic opportunities for all.

“If monetary policy does not work, then our economy cannot work. This concern is more than academic. The Federal Reserve looked past monetary policy’s fundamental service to our economy – that is, providing clear price signals so that goods and services can easily find their most promising opportunities. Instead of strengthening fundamentals to rebuild our economy from the ground up, the Fed engineered a financial reflation from the top-down, ” said subcommittee Chair Andy Barr (R-KY) “Returning to a monetary policy that simply eases the trade of goods and services wherever it shows promise would improve our economy for retirees, savers, and Main Street households and businesses. A better way is available, and we should act on it.”

Key Takeaways from the Hearing:

  • Nearly eight years after the “Great Recession” ended, the economy still is not working for hardworking Americans. This is due, in part, to monetary policy from the Federal Reserve which sought to rebuild the economy from the top down instead of from the ground up.
  • Returning to a monetary policy that simply eases the trade of goods and services wherever it shows promise would improve our economy for retirees, savers, and Main Street households and businesses.

Topline Quotes from Witnesses:

“The adequacy of Congressional oversight has become an especially controversial issue in recent years as the Federal Reserve initiated various ‘unconventional’ monetary policies in an attempt to meet its dual mandate…. In the redistribution that has occurred in the wake of the financial crisis, those on the less fortunate side of main street have seen fewer gains and a weaker recovery compared to the perceived benefits afforded large ‘Wall Street’ banks and the households living on the tony end of main street. Had unorthodox monetary policy generated the economic growth the public has been conditioned to anticipate, these policies would have been suspended years ago without generating the public disillusionment that has sparked today’s ‘audit the fed’ movement.” – Paul Kupiec, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute

“The Federal Reserve has not fulfilled the long-term promise of taming business cycles, and its overall track record on inflation is not much better. These facts alone require Congress to question the Fed’s mission and role. Given that the Fed’s credit allocation policies, regulatory failures, and mone­tary policy mistakes—after 100 years to gain expe­rience—worsened the most recent boom and bust cycle, ultimately turning into one of the worst eco­nomic downturns in U.S. history, Congress would be derelict in its duty to the American public if it allowed the Federal Reserve to continue operating under its existing ill-defined statutory mandate.”  – Norbert J. Michel, PhD, Research Fellow in Financial Regulations, The Heritage Foundation

“Congress should require a Savers Impact Analysis from the Federal Reserve at each discussion of the Fed’s policies and plans with the committees of jurisdiction. Under the CHOICE Act, this would be quarterly. This Analysis should quantify, discuss and project for the future the effects of the Fed’s policies on savings and savers, so these effects can be explicitly considered along with other relevant factors.” – Alex J. Pollock, Distinguished Senior Fellow, R Street Institute 


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