Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. REED. Today, I am joined by Senators Warren, Brown, Van Hollen, and Gillibrand to introduce legislation to ensure that at least one Federal Reserve Governor has demonstrated primary experience in supporting or protecting the rights of workers.

Our legislation is not the first to require a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to have a particular area of expertise. Indeed, as part of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, which passed the Senate by a vote of 93-4 and was signed into law on January 12, 2015, Congress amended the Federal Reserve Act to require at least one of the seven Federal Reserve Governors to be an individual ``with demonstrated primary experience working in or supervising community banks.'' Our legislation would ensure that workers get the very same representation that community bankers already have on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

As we all are aware, the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment. Our bill is designed to better ensure that future Boards of Governors continue the current Board's focus on its full employment mandate as evidenced by its explicit acknowledgement last August in its revised Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy that ``maximum employment is a broad-based and inclusive goal.'' This reflects the Fed's ``appreciation for the benefits of a strong labor market, particularly for many in low-and moderate-income communities,'' with policy decisions to be informed by the Board's ``assessments of the shortfalls of employment from its maximum level'' rather than by ``deviations from its maximum level'' as in its previous statement. While this may not seem like a huge difference, it is reflective of the Board's ``view that a robust job market can be sustained without causing an outbreak of inflation.''

To put it more simply, this current Federal Reserve ``will remain highly focused on fostering as strong a labor market as possible for the benefit of all Americans,'' and our legislation seeks to ensure that future Federal Reserve Boards will continue to do the same.

COVID-19 has shown us just how essential workers are to our economy and our physical well-being. We all know grocery store workers, nurses, firefighters, delivery workers, and other workers in both the public and private sectors who, despite the risk to their own health, have been literally holding together the fabric of our society and economy so that we can make it safely to the other side of this public health emergency. As such, they too deserve at least one member of the Board of Governors with demonstrated primary experience in supporting or protecting the rights of workers. I thank the AFL-CIO, Columbia University Professor and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, MIT Professor and Former International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Simon Johnson, and Georgetown Law Professor Adam Levitin for their support. and urge our colleagues to join in pushing to enact this legislation. ______

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