Sean Patrick Maloney: “when the Federal Reserve speaks, people listen. When the Fed is about to make some sort of monetary decision, the world…”

“when the Federal Reserve speaks, people listen. When the Fed is about to make some sort of monetary decision, the world stops and watches. That is because the Federal Reserve System is comprised of powerful experts whose influence affects anyone who makes and spends money. Some people think the Federal Reserve's primary purpose is to conduct monetary policy. Little do they know that only 1,600 of the Fed's 25,000 employees are working in monetary policy. The rest are employed in unrelated services, such as the transportation of paper checks. The Fed pays $36 million for this service, of which $17 million is a Government subsidy. This money, taxpayer money, could be used to reduce the debt. The Federal Trade Commission staff said in a 1990 report that these subsidies drive out private competition and innovation. My bill would end this subsidy. It is time to ask why a giant Government bureaucracy is subsidized to run something that the private sector can run far more efficiently.”