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2nd UPDATE: Lawmakers Attack Fed For Being Too Secretive
June 25, 2009: 05:20 PM ET
By Maya Jackson Randall
...
Usually, the Fed chief goes to Capitol Hill to take questions on monetary policy and the economy. But the economy was barely touched on at Thursday's hearing.
Instead, lawmakers criticized the Fed as an agency that has too much power and yet too little transparency and questioned whether the Fed should become the uber regulator of the financial system envisioned by the Obama administration.
...
Bernanke, however, said the administration's plan for overhauling U.S. financial rules won't greatly boost the central bank's authorities.
"It's not a massive increase in powers," Bernanke told the House panel.
...
Still, Bernanke warned lawmakers against moving forward on legislation that would give the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, new authority to audit the Fed. More than half of the U.S. House has signed on a measure that would make way for audits of the Fed.
"My concern about the legislation is that the GAO is auditing not only the operational aspects of our programs and details of the programs, but is making judgments about our policy decisions that would effectively be a takeover of monetary policy by the Congress, a repudiation of the independence of the Federal Reserve, which would be highly destructive to the stability of the financial system, the dollar and our national economic situation," he said.
Furthermore, Bernanke argued that the Fed, under his leadership, has made " enormous strides" to expand the information it releases to the public.
"We think we are quite transparent," Bernanke said.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, remain skeptical. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, argued that the Fed's decisions in the Bank of America-Merrill merger make the case " for a significant increase in accountability at the Fed."
"We can't afford to make the Fed a super-regulator, as some have proposed, without also increasing its transparency in meaningful ways," said Kucinich.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/...8_FORTUNE5.htm
June 25, 2009: 05:20 PM ET
By Maya Jackson Randall
...
Usually, the Fed chief goes to Capitol Hill to take questions on monetary policy and the economy. But the economy was barely touched on at Thursday's hearing.
Instead, lawmakers criticized the Fed as an agency that has too much power and yet too little transparency and questioned whether the Fed should become the uber regulator of the financial system envisioned by the Obama administration.
...
Bernanke, however, said the administration's plan for overhauling U.S. financial rules won't greatly boost the central bank's authorities.
"It's not a massive increase in powers," Bernanke told the House panel.
...
Still, Bernanke warned lawmakers against moving forward on legislation that would give the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, new authority to audit the Fed. More than half of the U.S. House has signed on a measure that would make way for audits of the Fed.
"My concern about the legislation is that the GAO is auditing not only the operational aspects of our programs and details of the programs, but is making judgments about our policy decisions that would effectively be a takeover of monetary policy by the Congress, a repudiation of the independence of the Federal Reserve, which would be highly destructive to the stability of the financial system, the dollar and our national economic situation," he said.
Furthermore, Bernanke argued that the Fed, under his leadership, has made " enormous strides" to expand the information it releases to the public.
"We think we are quite transparent," Bernanke said.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, remain skeptical. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, argued that the Fed's decisions in the Bank of America-Merrill merger make the case " for a significant increase in accountability at the Fed."
"We can't afford to make the Fed a super-regulator, as some have proposed, without also increasing its transparency in meaningful ways," said Kucinich.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/...8_FORTUNE5.htm
If they have nothing to hide......