Sec. 2. Transparency of the Federal reserve banks
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The Federal Reserve Act is amended— by redesignating sections 30 and 31 as sections 31 and 32, respectively; and by inserting after section 29 ( 12 U.S.C. 504 ) the following: Each Federal reserve bank shall be considered an agency, as defined in subsection
(f)of section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act ), for purposes of applying the requirements under that section. Each Federal reserve bank shall be considered a Federal agency for purposes of applying the requirements under chapter 31 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Records Act of 1950 ). In this subsection— the term committee confidential basis , with respect to information, means not publicly disclosing the information, in whole or in part or by way of summary, unless the chair and ranking member of the relevant committee or subcommittee described in subparagraph
(C)agree to publicly disclose the information; the term confidential supervisory information has the meaning given the term in section 261.2(b) of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation; the term covered Member of Congress means— the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; the chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic Policy of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; the chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives; the chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions of the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and the chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy of the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives; the term Inspector General means the Inspector General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection; and the term personnel and medical files — means personnel and medical files and similar files that are exempt from disclosure under section 552(b)(6) of title 5, United States Code; and does not include— financial disclosure forms; or performance, disciplinary, or adverse action information. Subject to subparagraph (B), section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is not authority for a Federal reserve bank to withhold information from Congress or any Member of Congress. Nothing in subparagraph
(A)shall be construed to affect the authority of a Federal reserve bank to withhold from an individual Member of Congress requesting information under section 552 of title 5, United States Code— information relating to monetary policy deliberations that is exempt from disclosure under section 552(b)(5) of title 5, United States Code; and except as provided in paragraph (6)— confidential supervisory information, as defined in section 261.2(b) of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, that is exempt from disclosure under section 552(b)(8) of title 5, United States Code; and personnel and medical files. Any request for information from a Federal reserve bank under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, made by a Member of Congress— shall be prioritized ahead of requests for information made by persons other than Members of Congress; and shall be processed without charging any fee to the Member of Congress. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a Federal reserve bank may not withhold information requested by a Member of Congress under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, on the basis that the information is privileged pursuant to a common law privilege, such as the deliberative process privilege, attorney-client privilege, or attorney work product privilege. With respect to any materials that are received by or in the possession of a Member of Congress or any staff member of a Member of Congress in response to a request made by a Member of Congress under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, from a Federal reserve bank, the chief clerk of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, with respect to the Senate, and the chief clerk of the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, with respect to the House of Representatives, shall— have responsibility for the maintenance and security of those materials; and ensure that— the materials are stored in a safe with a combination lock by the chief clerk of the relevant committee in the offices of the relevant committee; the materials do not leave the relevant committee, except for a Member of Congress or any staff member of a Member of Congress to review the materials in a congressional office or to return the materials to the Federal reserve bank; a Member of Congress or any staff member of a Member of Congress shall review the materials in a congressional office; and a Member of Congress or any staff member of a Member of Congress shall keep the materials in their physical custody when reviewing them and keep the materials in the safe of the chief clerk of the relevant committee when not reviewing the materials. Notwithstanding subclauses
(I)and
(II)of paragraph (2)(B)(ii) or any other provision of law, a Federal reserve bank may not withhold information requested by a covered Member of Congress under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, on the basis that the information contains confidential supervisory information or personnel and medical files. Any covered Member of Congress and any staff member of a covered Member of Congress that receives information that contains confidential supervisory information or personnel and medical files pursuant to a request made under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, from a Federal reserve bank shall handle that information on a committee confidential basis according to the procedures described in clause (ii). With respect to any materials containing confidential supervisory information or personnel and medical files that is received by or in the possession of a covered Member of Congress or any staff member of a covered Member of Congress under clause (i), the chief clerk of the relevant committee shall— have responsibility for the maintenance and security of those materials; and ensure that— the materials are stored in a safe with a combination lock by the chief clerk of the relevant committee in the offices of the relevant committee; the materials do not leave the relevant committee; a covered Member of Congress or any staff member of a covered Member of Congress shall keep the materials in their physical custody when reviewing them and keep the materials in the safe of the chief clerk of the relevant committee when not reviewing the materials; photocopying, scanning, or other reproduction of the materials is prohibited; and notes may be taken regarding the materials, but any notes shall be stored in safe of the chief clerk of the relevant committee and such notes shall not be taken or transmitted outside of the offices of the relevant committee. Access to materials containing confidential supervisory information or personnel and medical files supplied to a covered Member of Congress shall be limited to those staff members of the relevant committee or subcommittee with a need-to-know, as determined by the Staff Director and Minority Staff Director of the committee. Any disclosure of materials containing confidential supervisory information or personnel and medical files without the agreement of the chair and ranking member of the relevant committee or subcommittee of Congress to publicly disclose the information, or other violation of this subparagraph, shall constitute grounds for referral to the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate or the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives, as applicable. Any Member of Congress who makes a request for information from a Federal reserve bank under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, has standing to file in the appropriate district court of the United States an action to enjoin the Federal reserve bank from withholding records of the Federal reserve bank and to order the production of any records of the Federal reserve bank improperly withheld from the Member of Congress in the same manner as any other person under that section. Subject to subparagraph (B), in this subsection, the term ethics-related information means any record documenting or relating to— the activities of the ethics program of the Board or a Federal reserve bank; financial disclosure reports and related records; ethics agreements and related records; outside employment and activity of officers and employees of the Board or a Federal reserve bank; referrals of violations of criminal conflict of interest statutes; ethics-related disciplinary records or adverse actions; ethics-related investigations, inquiries, or reviews; ethics-related materials, including ethics determinations issued by, ethics advice issued by, ethics consultation engaged in, and ethics training records of the Board or a Federal reserve bank; and any other ethics-related policies, procedures, practices, or program records of the Board or a Federal reserve bank, including— any record relating to— ethics policies, procedures, practices, or program implementation, interpretation, counseling, management, development, review, or complaints; employee training and education related to any ethics-related policies, procedures, practices, or program; ethics waivers, authorizations, and approvals; non-Federally funded travel; any ethics-related annual questionnaires relating to the ethics program of the Board or a Federal reserve bank; and any other ethics-related policies, procedures, practices, or program of the Board or a Federal reserve bank; and any other record described in the document entitled, General Records Schedule 2.8: Employee Ethics Records published in September 2016 by the National Archives and Records Administration, or any successor document. Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a record of advice and counseling provided by an ethics official to an individual officer or employee, except for a record that has operative legal effect such as a waiver, an authorization, an approval, or a determination that alters the ethical obligations of such officer or employee, shall not be included in the definition of the term ethics-related information for the purposes of this Act. Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is not authority for the Board or a Federal reserve bank to withhold ethics-related information from a Member of Congress, including any ethics-related information in a personnel file. No provision of law, including title I of the Ethics in Government Act (5 U.S.C. App.), shall preclude or limit the disclosure of ethics-related information to a Member of Congress under subparagraph (A). Any request for ethics-related information from the Board or a Federal reserve bank under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, made by a Member of Congress— shall be prioritized ahead of requests for information made by persons other than Members of Congress; and shall be processed without charging any fee to the Member of Congress. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Board or a Federal reserve bank may not withhold ethics-related information requested by a Member of Congress under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, on the basis that the information is privileged pursuant to a common law privilege, such as the deliberative process privilege, attorney-client privilege, or attorney work product privilege. With respect to any materials related to ethics-related information that are received by or in the possession of a Member of Congress or any staff member of a Member of Congress in response to a request made by a Member of Congress under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, from the Board or a Federal reserve bank, the chief clerk of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, with respect to the Senate, and the chief clerk of the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, with respect to the House of Representatives, shall— have responsibility for the maintenance and security of those materials; and ensure that— the materials are stored in a safe with a combination lock by the chief clerk of the relevant committee in the offices of the relevant committee; the materials do not leave the relevant committee, except for a Member of Congress or any staff member of a Member of Congress to review the materials in a congressional office or to return the materials to the Board or the Federal reserve bank, as applicable; a Member of Congress or any staff member of a Member of Congress shall review the materials in a congressional office; and a Member of Congress or any staff member of a Member of Congress shall keep the materials in their physical custody when reviewing them and keep the materials in the safe of the chief clerk of the relevant committee when not reviewing the materials. Any Member of Congress who makes a request for ethics-related information from the Board or a Federal reserve bank under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, has standing to file in the appropriate district court of the United States an action to enjoin the Board or the Federal reserve bank, as applicable, from withholding records of the Board or the Federal reserve bank, as applicable, and to order the production of any records of the Board or the Federal reserve bank, as applicable, improperly withheld from the Member of Congress in the same manner as any other person under that section. .
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Sec. 2
Transparency of the Federal reserve banks
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