Rep. Green Introduces Bill to Open Federal Reserve Board Meetings Once More

 

U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green wants the governing board of the Federal Reserve to resume meeting in public to comply with the Sunshine Act.

The CARES Act has allowed the board of governors to meet in secret for the most part, Green said. So, he and U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI-02) this week introduced the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act, HR 8007, to make the board transparent once again.

Tracking information on the act is available here.

Green tweeted, “The CARES Act cast a veil of secrecy over the @federalreserve, dissolving crucial transparency provisions. That’s why @TulsiPress and I introduced the bipartisan Federal Reserve Sunshine Act, to reinstate transparency at the Fed.”

The CARES Act cast a veil of secrecy over the @federalreserve, dissolving crucial transparency provisions.

That's why @TulsiPress and I introduced the bipartisan Federal Reserve Sunshine Act, to reinstate transparency at the Fed:https://t.co/hCiY8eoOUp

— Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) August 13, 2020

He also said, “The CARES Act allows the Chairman of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors to conduct any board meeting without complying with the Government in the Sunshine Act, as long as it’s determined in writing that ‘unusual and exigent circumstances’ exist. This means that the Fed does not have to announce its meetings, and it absolves the board of the requirement to keep minutes of its meetings or most records about them.”

Gabbard said, “Responding to this global pandemic requires a massive commitment of resources to provide assistance to the American people during this crisis. Unfortunately, the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors is able to avoid complying with existing transparency laws as they oversee $450 billion in taxpayer funds provided by the CARES Act in loans and other financial assistance.

Their bill has received endorsements from government transparency advocates including the Project on Government Oversight, FreedomWorks, Demand Progress, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Tim Stretton, policy analyst with the Project on Government Oversight, said, “For decades now, it has been apparent that the Federal Reserve operates with too much opacity and secrecy. Furthermore, the recently passed CARES Act exempted the Federal Reserve from some of the law’s broad public transparency measures, giving the Fed the option to blindfold the electorate and the media.

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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Background Photo “Federal Reserve Building” by Rdsmith4. CC BY-SA 2.5.