§225b Appearances Before and Reports to the Congress

Summary

The Chairman of the Board must testify to Congress at two regular hearings each year about how the Board and the Federal Open Market Committee run monetary policy and about the economy now and in the future. The hearings are scheduled about February 20 in even-numbered years and about July 20 in odd-numbered years before the House banking committee, and about July 20 in even-numbered years and about February 20 in odd-numbered years before the Senate banking committee. The Chairman may also appear before the other committee if asked after the scheduled hearing. At each hearing the Board must send a written report at the same time to both Senate and House banking committees. The report must discuss monetary policy and economic outlook, taking into account things like employment, unemployment, production, investment, real income, productivity, exchange rates, international trade and payments, and prices. The Board must also put an “Audit” link on its home web page to a public file that stays up for at least 6 months. That file must include government audit reports, the Board’s annual independent audited financial statements, certain reports on emergency lending, and other information the Board thinks helps the public understand its accounting and controls.