SMP: Efforts to Depoliticize the Fed Will Likely Make Matters Worse
My latest for the Sound Money Project is on the recent initiatives to increase political oversight over the Fed. A strange way to reduce the politicization of the Fed.
In December 2022, then-Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) introduced the Federal Reserve Accountability Act. It is intended to increase accountability, address left-leaning political activism, and ensure greater geographic and professional diversity within the Federal Reserve System.
Sen. Toomey has been very vocal about his concerns regarding the recent increase in the Fed’s political activism. According to a press release issued by the Senate Banking Committee, in “the past two years, independent economists and academics have also raised concerns about the activities of the Fed, including the Fed regional banks.” The document backs its claim on an open letter signed by 42 independent economists and a Mercatus Center study. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) cosponsored the bill.