[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2912 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 252
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2912
[Report No. 114-331]
To establish a commission to examine the United States monetary policy,
evaluate alternative monetary regimes, and recommend a course for
monetary policy going forward.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 2015
Mr. Brady of Texas (for himself, Mr. Jones, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Blum, Mr.
McClintock, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Labrador, Mr. Farenthold, Mr. Pearce, Mr.
Smith of Texas, Mr. Mulvaney, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Joyce, Mr. Rothfus, Mr.
Duncan of South Carolina, Mr. Flores, Ms. Jenkins of Kansas, Mr.
Neugebauer, Mrs. Lummis, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Renacci, and Mr.
Weber of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Financial Services
November 16, 2015
Additional sponsors: Mr. Cramer, Mr. Bridenstine, Ms. Granger, Ms.
Foxx, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr. Rokita, Mr. Olson, Mr. Brat, Mr.
Russell, and Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia
November 16, 2015
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
and ordered to be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a commission to examine the United States monetary policy,
evaluate alternative monetary regimes, and recommend a course for
monetary policy going forward.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Centennial Monetary Commission Act
of 2015''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Constitution endows Congress with the power ``to
coin money, regulate the value thereof''.
(2) Following the financial crisis known as the Panic of
1907, Congress established the National Monetary Commission to
provide recommendations for the reform of the financial and
monetary systems of the United States.
(3) Incorporating several of the recommendations of the
National Monetary Commission, Congress created the Federal
Reserve System in 1913. As currently organized, the Federal
Reserve System consists of the Board of Governors in
Washington, District of Columbia, and the Federal Reserve Banks
organized into 12 districts around the United States. The
stockholders of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks include national
and certain State-chartered commercial banks, which operate on
a fractional reserve basis.
(4) Originally, Congress gave the Federal Reserve System a
monetary mandate to provide an elastic currency, within the
context of a gold standard, in response to seasonal
fluctuations in the demand for currency.
(5) Congress also gave the Federal Reserve System a
financial stability mandate to serve as the lender of last
resort to solvent but illiquid banks during a financial crisis.
(6) In 1977, Congress changed the monetary mandate of the
Federal Reserve System to a dual mandate for maximum employment
and stable prices.
(7) Empirical studies and historical evidence, both within
the United States and in other countries, demonstrate that
price stability is desirable because both inflation and
deflation damage the economy.
(8) The economic challenge of recent years--most notably
the bursting of the housing bubble, the financial crisis of
2008, and the ensuing anemic recovery--have occurred at great
cost in terms of lost jobs and output.
(9) Policymakers are reexamining the structure and
functioning of financial institutions and markets to determine
what, if any, changes need to be made to place the financial
system on a stronger, more sustainable path going forward.
(10) The Federal Reserve System has taken extraordinary
actions in response to the recent economic challenges.
(11) The Federal Open Market Committee has engaged in
multiple rounds of quantitative easing, providing unprecedented
liquidity to financial markets, while committing to holding
short-term interest rates low for a seemingly indefinite
period, and pursuing a policy of credit allocation by
purchasing Federal agency debt and mortgage-backed securities.
(12) In the wake of the recent extraordinary actions of the
Federal Reserve System, Congress--consistent with its
constitutional responsibilities and as it has done periodically
throughout the history of the United States--has once again
renewed its examination of monetary policy.
(13) Central in such examination has been a renewed look at
what is the most proper mandate for the Federal Reserve System
to conduct monetary policy in the 21st century.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.
There is established a commission to be known as the ``Centennial
Monetary Commission'' (in this Act referred to as the ``Commission'').
SEC. 4. DUTIES.
(a) Study of Monetary Policy.--The Commission shall--
(1) examine how United States monetary policy since the
creation of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System in 1913 has affected the performance of the United
States economy in terms of output, employment, prices, and
financial stability over time;
(2) evaluate various operational regimes under which the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the
Federal Open Market Committee may conduct monetary policy in
terms achieving the maximum sustainable level of output and
employment and price stability over the long term, including--
(A) discretion in determining monetary policy
without an operational regime;
(B) price level targeting;
(C) inflation rate targeting;
(D) nominal gross domestic product targeting (both
level and growth rate);
(E) the use of monetary policy rules; and
(F) the gold standard;
(3) evaluate the use of macro-prudential supervision and
regulation as a tool of monetary policy in terms of achieving
the maximum sustainable level of output and employment and
price stability over the long term;
(4) evaluate the use of the lender-of-last-resort function
of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System as a
tool of monetary policy in terms of achieving the maximum
sustainable level of output and employment and price stability
over the long term; and
(5) recommend a course for United States monetary policy
going forward, including--
(A) the legislative mandate;
(B) the operational regime;
(C) the securities used in open market operations;
and
(D) transparency issues.
(b) Report on Monetary Policy.--Not later than December 1, 2016,
the Commission shall submit to Congress and make publicly available a
report containing a statement of the findings and conclusions of the
Commission in carrying out the study under subsection (a), together
with the recommendations the Commission considers appropriate.
SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.
(a) Number and Appointment.--
(1) Appointed voting members.--The Commission shall contain
12 voting members as follows:
(A) Six members appointed by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, with four members from the
majority party and two members from the minority party.
(B) Six members appointed by the President Pro
Tempore of the Senate, with four members from the
majority party and two members from the minority party.
(2) Chairman.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the majority leader of the Senate shall jointly designate
one of the members of the Commission as Chairman.
(3) Non-voting members.--The Commission shall contain 2
non-voting members as follows:
(A) One member appointed by the Secretary of the
Treasury.
(B) One member who is the president of a district
Federal reserve bank appointed by the Chair of the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
(b) Period of Appointment.--Each member shall be appointed for the
life of the Commission.
(c) Timing of Appointment.--All members of the Commission shall be
appointed not before January 5, 2015, and not later than 30 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its
powers, and shall be filled in the manner in which the original
appointment was made.
(e) Meetings.--
(1) Initial meeting.--The Commission shall hold its initial
meeting and begin the operations of the Commission as soon as
is practicable.
(2) Further meetings.--The Commission shall meet upon the
call of the Chair or a majority of its members.
(f) Quorum.--Seven voting members of the Commission shall
constitute a quorum but a lesser number may hold hearings.
(g) Member of Congress Defined.--In this section, the term ``Member
of Congress'' means a Senator or a Representative in, or Delegate or
Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.
SEC. 6. POWERS.
(a) Hearings and Sessions.--The Commission or, on the authority of
the Commission, any subcommittee or member thereof, may, for the
purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times
and places, take testimony, receive evidence, or administer oaths as
the Commission or such subcommittee or member thereof considers
appropriate.
(b) Contract Authority.--To the extent or in the amounts provided
in advance in appropriation Acts, the Commission may contract with and
compensate government and private agencies or persons to enable the
Commission to discharge its duties under this Act, without regard to
section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5).
(c) Obtaining Official Data.--
(1) In general.--The Commission is authorized to secure
directly from any executive department, bureau, agency, board,
commission, office, independent establishment, or
instrumentality of the Government, any information, including
suggestions, estimates, or statistics, for the purposes of this
Act.
(2) Requesting official data.--The head of such department,
bureau, agency, board, commission, office, independent
establishment, or instrumentality of the government shall, to
the extent authorized by law, furnish such information upon
request made by--
(A) the Chair;
(B) the Chair of any subcommittee created by a
majority of the Commission; or
(C) any member of the Commission designated by a
majority of the commission to request such information.
(d) Assistance From Federal Agencies.--
(1) General services administration.--The Administrator of
General Services shall provide to the Commission on a
reimbursable basis administrative support and other services
for the performance of the functions of the Commission.
(2) Other departments and agencies.--In addition to the
assistance prescribed in paragraph (1), at the request of the
Commission, departments and agencies of the United States shall
provide such services, funds, facilities, staff, and other
support services as may be authorized by law.
(e) Postal Service.--The Commission may use the United States mails
in the same manner and under the same conditions as other departments
and agencies of the United States.
SEC. 7. COMMISSION PERSONNEL.
(a) Appointment and Compensation of Staff.--
(1) In general.--Subject to rules prescribed by the
Commission, the Chair may appoint and fix the pay of the
executive director and other personnel as the Chair considers
appropriate.
(2) Applicability of civil service laws.--The staff of the
Commission may be appointed without regard to the provisions of
title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the
competitive service, and may be paid without regard to the
provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of
that title relating to classification and General Schedule pay
rates, except that an individual so appointed may not receive
pay in excess of level V of the Executive Schedule.
(b) Consultants.--The Commission may procure temporary and
intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States
Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent
of the rate of pay for a person occupying a position at level IV of the
Executive Schedule.
(c) Staff of Federal Agencies.--Upon request of the Commission, the
head of any Federal department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable
basis, any of the personnel of such department or agency to the
Commission to assist it in carrying out its duties under this Act.
SEC. 8. TERMINATION.
(a) In General.--The Commission shall terminate on June 1, 2017.
(b) Administrative Activities Before Termination.--The Commission
may use the period between the submission of its report and its
termination for the purpose of concluding its activities, including
providing testimony to the committee of Congress concerning its report.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act and such sums shall remain available
until the date on which the Commission terminates.
Union Calendar No. 252
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2912
[Report No. 114-331]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a commission to examine the United States monetary policy,
evaluate alternative monetary regimes, and recommend a course for
monetary policy going forward.
_______________________________________________________________________
November 16, 2015
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
and ordered to be printed