Number: RS20949
Title: The Federal Reserve: Recurrent Public Policy Issues
Authors: Marc Labonte, Government and Finance Division 
Abstract: Congress has delegated the task of implementing monetary policy to the Fed, but retains oversight responsibilities and overarching control of the Fed's mandate and structure. Hence, issues surrounding monetary policy are frequently the subject of congressional debate. This report provides an overview of the many issues surrounding the Federal Reserve and monetary policy, and refers the reader to relevant CRS reports for more detailed analysis. These issues include debates over the proper goals of monetary policy, the possible adoption of an inflation target or a "Taylor rule," the economics of Federal Reserve independence, the role of asset bubbles in monetary policy, the role of the monetary aggregates in the formulation of monetary policy, and the debate surrounding the payment of interest on required bank reserves.
Pages: 4
Date: September 28, 2006