Sec. 505. Commission for restructuring the Federal Reserve System
2,097 words·~10 min read·
/bill/114/s/1484/pcs/section-505A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
There is established an independent commission to be known as the Federal Reserve System Restructuring Commission (referred to in this section as the Commission ). The Commission shall be composed of 7 members as follows: 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 2 members appointed by the majority leader of the Senate. 1 member appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives. 1 member appointed by the minority leader of the Senate. 1 member appointed by the President.
Once the members of the Commission have been appointed, the members shall designate 1 of the members to be Chairman of the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. The Commission shall conduct a study on whether it is appropriate to restructure the Federal Reserve districts, including an analysis on potential benefits and costs of restructuring. In determining whether such restructuring is appropriate, the Commission shall specifically consider the impact of restructuring with respect to— maximizing operational effectiveness within the Federal Reserve System while minimizing operational costs; maximizing the effectiveness of supervisory and regulatory functions while minimizing potential for regulatory capture; and monetary policy decision-making.
The Commission shall— consider various proposals to restructure the existing Federal Reserve districts, including proposals to— increase the number of existing Federal Reserve districts, including a proposal to divide the Federal Reserve district in which the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is contained into 2 or more separate districts while retaining the existing structure for the remaining Federal Reserve districts; decrease the number of existing Federal Reserve districts; restructure the existing Federal Reserve districts without increasing or decreasing the number of existing Federal Reserve districts; and reassign specific functions and duties, including supervisory and regulatory functions, to different Federal Reserve banks within the Federal Reserve System, including functions and duties performed by the Board; and determine which of the proposals considered under clause
(i)are the optimal approaches to restructuring the existing Federal Reserve districts pursuant to subclauses (I), (II), (III), and
(IV)of clause (i). The Commission shall, based on the proposals considered under paragraph (1)(C), develop a recommendation on the optimal organization of the Federal Reserve System that— maximizes— the operational effectiveness within the Federal Reserve System while minimizing operational costs; and the effectiveness of supervisory and regulatory functions while minimizing potential for regulatory capture; and takes into account the impact of restructuring on monetary policy decision-making. Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, and also furnish copies to the President and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, a report that includes— the recommendation described in paragraph (2); a description of the proposals considered under paragraph (1)(C)(i); a description of the proposals determined to be optimal under paragraph (1)(C)(ii); an analysis of the benefits and costs of each of the proposals described in subparagraph (B), including, with respect to each proposal, an analysis of— the operational benefits and costs to the Federal Reserve System; the impact on supervision of financial institutions and nonbank financial institutions supervised by the Federal Reserve banks; and the impact on monetary policy decision-making; an analysis of— any specific benefits and costs resulting from the increase in total number of Federal Reserve districts; and any specific benefits and costs resulting from the decrease in total number of Federal Reserve districts, including an evaluation of savings to the Federal Reserve System through streamlining and elimination of duplicated functions; a determination of— whether the benefits of restructuring the existing Federal Reserve districts without increasing or decreasing the number of existing Federal Reserve districts outweigh the costs; whether the benefits of increasing or decreasing the number of existing Federal Reserve districts outweigh the costs; whether the benefits of reassigning functions and duties to different Federal Reserve banks within the Federal Reserve System outweigh the costs; and the optimal number of Federal Reserve districts in order for the Federal Reserve System to fulfill its statutory role in the most efficient and cost-effective manner; and a description of the methodology used by the Commission to reach the conclusions for the report. The Commission may lease space and acquire personal property to the extent funds are available. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), each member of the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which such member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the Commission. All members of the Commission who are officers or employees of the United States shall serve without compensation in addition to that received for their services as officers or employees of the United States. The Chairman of the Commission shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the minimum annual rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314, of title 5, United States Code. The members of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the Commission. The Commission shall appoint a Director, who shall be paid at the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. Subject to clauses
(ii)and (iii), the Director, with the approval of the Commission, may appoint and fix the pay of additional personnel. The Director may make such appointments without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and any personnel so appointed 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 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of that title. Upon request of the Director, the head of any Federal department or agency, including the Comptroller General of the United States, may detail any of the personnel of that department or agency to the Commission to assist the Commission in carrying out its duties under this section. Not more than 1/5 of the personnel employed by or detailed to the Commission may be on detail from the Federal Reserve System. Not more than one-fifth of the personnel employed by or detailed to the Commission may be on detail from any Federal department or agency other than the Federal Reserve System. The Commission may procure by contract the temporary or intermittent services of experts or consultants pursuant to section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individuals which do not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay for a comparable position paid under the General Schedule. Any individual employed by the Commission under this paragraph, including any expert or consultant under contract pursuant to subparagraph (B)(iv), shall be considered staff for the duration of such employment of such individual for the purposes of this section. No person may restrict an employee of the Federal Reserve System from communicating with a member or staff of the Commission, and no person may take (or threaten to take) an unfavorable personnel action, or withhold (or threaten to withhold) a favorable personnel action, as a reprisal for such communication. No member or staff of the Commission shall request, either in writing or verbally, that any employee of the Federal Reserve System provide— nonpublic information or documents concerning or related to monetary policy deliberations; or confidential supervisory information. Any member or staff of the Commission that obtains nonpublic information from the Federal Reserve System or any employee of the Federal Reserve System shall maintain the confidentiality of such information. The Comptroller General of the United States shall annually audit the financial transactions of the Commission in accordance with the United States generally accepted government auditing standards, as may be prescribed by the Comptroller General of the United States. An audit under paragraph
(1)shall be conducted at any place where accounts of the Commission are normally kept. The representatives of the Government Accountability Office shall have access, in accordance with section 716(c) of title 31, United States Code, to— the Chairman of the Commission, members of the Commission, and staff of the Commission; and all books, accounts, documents, papers, records (including electronic records), reports, files, property, or other information belonging to or under the control of or used or employed by the Commission pertaining to its financial transactions and necessary to facilitate the audit. Representatives of the Government Accountability Office shall be afforded full facilities for verifying transactions with the balances or securities held by depositories, fiscal agents, and custodians. All books, accounts, documents, papers, records, reports, files, property, or other information described in paragraph (3)(A)(ii) shall remain in possession and custody of the Commission. The Comptroller General of the United States may make copies of any books, accounts, documents, papers, records, reports, files, property, or other information described in paragraph (3)(A)(ii) without cost to the Comptroller General. In conducting an audit under this subsection, the Comptroller General of the United States may employ by contract, without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes ( 41 U.S.C. 6101 ), professional services of firms and organizations of certified public accountants for temporary periods or for special purposes. Upon the request of the Comptroller General of the United States, the Chairman of the Commission shall transfer to the Government Accountability Office from funds made available to the Commission the amount requested by the Comptroller General to cover the full costs of any audit and report conducted by the Comptroller General. The Comptroller General of the United States shall credit funds transferred under subparagraph
(A)to the account established for salaries and expenses of the Government Accountability Office, and such amount shall be available upon receipt and without fiscal year limitation to cover the full costs of the audit and report. The Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, and also furnish copies to the President and the Commission, a report of each annual audit conducted under this subsection, including— the scope of the audit; the statement of assets and liabilities and surplus or deficit; the statement of income and expenses; the statement of sources and application of funds; such comments and information as the Comptroller General determines is necessary to inform the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives of the financial operations and condition of the Commission; and such recommendations that the Comptroller General may deem advisable. The Commission shall terminate not later than on December 31, 2020. Beginning on the first quarter of the fiscal year after the date on which the Commission is established, and in each quarter of a fiscal year thereafter, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall transfer to the Commission, from the combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System, the amount determined by the Chairman of the Commission to be reasonably necessary to carry out the authorities of the Commission pursuant to this section, taking into account such other sums made available to the Commission in preceding quarters, to be available without fiscal year limitation and not subject to appropriation. Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, the funds derived from the Federal Reserve System pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject to review by the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate or the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. The first undesignated paragraph of section 2 of the Federal Reserve Act (38 Stat. 251, chapter 6) is amended by inserting , except as otherwise provided under section 505 of the Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015 after organized .
Connectionstraces to 2
Traces to 2 documents
Citation graph
cites case law
Cites 2Cited by 0 across 0 sources