Bill Summary
The Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act is a proposed bill that aims to amend the Federal Reserve Act in order to address racial disparities in employment, income, wealth, and access to affordable credit. The bill requires the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee to carry out their duties and functions in a way that promotes the elimination of these disparities. This includes actions related to monetary policy, bank regulation and supervision, payment systems, the Community Reinvestment Act, fair lending laws, and community development. The bill also requires the Federal Reserve to report on economic developments and trends related to these disparities, including information on different demographic groups such as race, ethnicity, gender, and educational attainment.
Possible Impacts
1. The Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act would require the Federal Reserve to collect and report demographic data on employment, income, wealth, and access to credit. This could potentially affect people by increasing transparency and awareness of disparities and possibly leading to policy changes to address them.
2. The act would also require the Federal Reserve to consider eliminating racial disparities in various areas, including monetary policy, regulation and supervision of banks, and enforcement of fair lending laws. This could potentially affect people by promoting equal access and opportunities for marginalized communities.
3. The act would also require the Federal Reserve to include demographic information in their reports to Congress, specifically comparing trends among different racial and ethnic groups. This could potentially affect people by highlighting systemic issues and advocating for more targeted solutions to address them.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7946 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7946
To amend the Federal Reserve Act to add additional demographic
reporting requirements, to modify the goals of the Federal Reserve
System, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 4, 2020
Ms. Waters introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Reserve Act to add additional demographic
reporting requirements, to modify the goals of the Federal Reserve
System, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Reserve Racial and Economic
Equity Act''.
SEC. 2. DUTY TO MINIMIZE AND ELIMINATE RACIAL DISPARITIES.
The Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 221 et seq.) is amended by
inserting after section 2B the following:
``SEC. 2C. DUTY TO MINIMIZE AND ELIMINATE RACIAL DISPARITIES.
``The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the
Federal Open Market Committee shall exercise all duties and functions
in a manner that fosters the elimination of disparities across racial
and ethnic groups with respect to employment, income, wealth, and
access to affordable credit, including actions in carrying out--
``(1) monetary policy;
``(2) regulation and supervision of banks, thrifts, bank
holding companies, savings and loan holding companies, and
nonbank financial companies and systemically important
financial market utilities designated by the Financial
Stability Oversight Council;
``(3) operation of payment systems;
``(4) implementation of the Community Reinvestment Act of
1977;
``(5) enforcement of fair lending laws; and
``(6) community development functions.''.
SEC. 3. APPEARANCES BEFORE AND REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS.
Section 2B of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 225b) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the
end; and
(B) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the
following:
``(B) economic developments and prospects for the
future described in the report required in subsection
(b), including a discussion of disparities in
employment, income, and wealth across racial and ethnic
groups as well as other specific segments of the
population; and
``(C) plans, activities, and actions of the Board
and the Federal Open Market Committee to minimize and
eliminate racial disparities in employment, wages,
wealth, and access to affordable credit pursuant to
section 2C.''; and
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``The Board'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--The Board''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Trend information.--
``(A) In general.--Each report required under
paragraph (1) shall include recent trends in the
unemployment rate, labor force participation rate,
employment to population ratio, median household
income, and change in real earnings.
``(B) Demographic information.--The trends required
to be reported under subparagraph (A) shall include a
comparison among different demographic groups,
including race (White, African-American, Latino, Native
American, and Asian populations), ethnicity, gender,
and educational attainment.''.
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