Richard Shelby: “I feel compelled to rise in opposition to the Senator from North Dakota's amendment--an amendment, which in my view is…”

“I feel compelled to rise in opposition to the Senator from North Dakota's amendment--an amendment, which in my view is misplaced, unwise, and dangerously myopic. The independent role of the Federal Reserve in setting monetary policy remains critical to the long-term stability of this country. Cries for more public input in monetary policy decisionmaking misapprehend the necessary role of a central bank in our market system and jeopardize a carefully crafted balance between independence and public accountability. Public accountability, in contrast to public input, already exists under the current structure of the Federal Resource. The Fed and its activities are already highly scrutinized by both Houses of Congress pursuant to the Humphrey-Hawkins Act--and I dare say that Chairman Greenspan spends about as much time on the Hill testifying before one committee or another than he does at the Federal Reserve engaging in monetary policy decisionmaking. This amendment is not about public accountability, Mr. President. Rather, this amendment is about a trade-off between long-term stability and short-term gain. This amendment represents a rough attempt to influence monetary policy for short-term political purposes. And yet even if it were successful in its purpose--to try and keep interest rates artificially low--it would still be ineffective, Mr. President, because long-term interests rates are not determined by U.S. monetary policy alone.”