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38-528: FRTA is an acronym which may refer to: Federal Reserve Transparency Act Franklin Regional Transit Authority Free Radical Theory of Aging Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title FRTA . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to

76-608: A deadline of December 2010. If enacted, the bill would also have ensured that the audit results would be available to Congress. The audit would include the Fed's " discount window ", its funding facilities, its open market operations , and its agreements with foreign bankers. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has stated that "the financial statements of the Federal Reserve Banks and

114-513: A reserve bank teller window when a bank needed to borrow money. The Federal Reserve created the discount window to help banks avoid bank runs . Because the rate was below market, the Fed discouraged its use, causing a stigma against companies that did borrow from the window. In 2003 the Fed raised the rate to make using the window less appealing. In the United States, there are several different rates charged to institutions borrowing at

152-432: A website listing all banks that have borrowed from the Fed since March 24, 2008, and the amount, terms, and "specific rationale" of the loans. Sanders commented, "I have a hard time understanding how you have put $ 2.2 trillion at risk without making those names available." Fed chair Ben Bernanke had told Sanders that publishing the names would make the banks feel stigmatized and potentially reluctant to borrow further. There

190-477: Is extended up to nine months. The primary credit is normally set 100 basis points (bp) above the federal funds target and the secondary credit rate is set 50 bp above the primary rate. The seasonal credit rate is set from an averaging of the effective federal funds rate and 90-day certificate of deposit rates. Institutions must provide acceptable collateral to secure the loan. Such includes Treasury securities , municipal bonds , and mortgage loans . After

228-417: The 11 September 2001 attacks , as the volume of borrowing requests increased dramatically, lending to banks through the discount window totaled about $ 46 billion, more than 200 times the daily average for the previous month. The flood of funds released into the banking system reduced the need for banks to rely on immediate payments from other banks so they could pay what they owed others. That kept liquidity in

266-790: The Marginal Lending Facility . Conversely, excess funds can be deposited within the European Central Bank System (ECBS) and earn (or pay) interest using the Deposit Facility. Counterparties must have collateral for the funds they receive from the Marginal Lending Facility and will be charged the overnight rate set by the ECBS. Excess capital can be deposited with the Deposit Facility and it will earn (or pay) interest at

304-551: The SEIU 's President Andy Stern , the United Steelworkers 's President Leo Gerard , economists Dean Baker , James K. Galbraith , Rob Johnson, and professors William K. Black , Thomas Ferguson , and L. Randall Wray, pushed for passage of the bill and against the adoption of the amendment proposed by Rep. Watt. The advocacy group Campaign for Liberty (CFL) encourages members to petition representatives to cosponsor

342-770: The United States Code "to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported". It would have stricken exceptions to the audit protocol in 31 U.S.C.   § 714 for the Federal Reserve System , the central bank of the United States , and would have replaced an indefinite deadline with

380-537: The 111th Congress drew to its close in December 2010, H.R. 1207 had 320 cosponsors, including all House Republicans, as well as over 100 Democrats, suggesting broad bipartisan support. Dennis Kucinich ( D - OH ) became the 218th sponsor as listed at THOMAS.gov on June 11; 218 votes are needed to pass any bill in the House, and 290 were needed for a veto-proof majority . Barney Frank ( D - MA ), Chairman of

418-465: The Board of Governors are audited annually by an independent outside auditor." The bill's sponsor, Congressman Ron Paul ( R - TX ), countered by stating that the present audit process exempts the Fed's "most crucial activities". (R-TX) (I-VT) (R-TX) (R-TX) (R-KY) (R-GA) (R-KY) (R-KY) (R-KY) (R-KY) (R-KY) (R-KY) (R-KY) (R-KY) (R-KY) (R-KY) Representative Paul introduced

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456-721: The Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009 ( H.R. 3996 ). The amendment includes many provisions of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, including removing GAO audit restrictions and allowing a more complete audit of the Federal Reserve, including reviewing various policies and agreements with foreign entities. It was passed by in a 43-26 vote, with bipartisan support despite opposition from former supporter and Committee Chairman Barney Frank. The amendment

494-708: The House Committee on Financial Services through which the bill must pass, finally endorsed the bill in August following months of silence. Frank later reversed his position on the bill after the Watt amendment was rejected and Watt's revisions undone by an amendment co-sponsored by Paul and Alan Grayson ( D - FL ). On November 19, 2009, the Committee on Financial Services approved the Paul-Grayson amendment to

532-584: The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act by adding the entire text of S. 604 as Senate Amendment 1367. However, U.S. Senator Ben Nelson stopped the amendment by claiming it violated Senate Rule 16, by "legislating" on an appropriations bill. The Senate president agreed, but when challenged by DeMint, admitted that many other GAO audits in the bill also violated Rule 16, but took no action. The bill passed without further changes. The two titles for these two versions of

570-562: The Transparency Act, as an opportunity to audit the Federal Reserve, and also promoted the CFL "Freedom Celebration" regional conference. Donald Trump while campaigning for the 2016 presidential Republican nomination has stated that he supports Audit the Fed. Discount window The discount window is an instrument of monetary policy (usually controlled by central banks ) that allows eligible institutions to borrow money from

608-440: The Transparency Act. College Republicans at Appalachian State University , staged a Boston Tea Party themed assembly for tax day 2009, to raise awareness for the Transparency Act; the event included wearing white wristbands to symbolize slavery and mailing tea bags to state representatives. CFL president John Tate promotes the bill in conjunction with dealing with "the silent, destructive tax of monetary inflation", this thought

646-438: The amendment's original language by the amendment proposed by Paul and Grayson. Watt's proposed version included provisions that allowed audits of the Fed's balance sheet, but not for the monetary policy. Ryan Grim, a contributor for the left-leaning news blog The Huffington Post suggested Watt's amendment was an attempt to create less transparency than before at the Federal Reserve. The Financial Stability Improvement Act

684-413: The audit requirements would be detrimental to monetary policy. Gregg added that "It's great PR; you go home and beat up the Fed." "I strongly oppose Audit the Fed," said Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen , saying that it would "bring short-term political pressures to bear" on the central bank and dissuade it from making the "hard choices" needed to curb inflation. The central bank's chair, in opposing

722-403: The banking system despite interruptions of communications and cash flow between banks. On August 17, 2007, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve announced a temporary change to primary credit lending terms. The discount rate was cut by 50 bp—to 5.75% from 6.25%—and the term of loans was extended from overnight to up to thirty days. That reduced the spread of the primary credit rate over

760-479: The bill are not to be confused with the same two titles (used in reverse) for the two versions of a related bill. The House "Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009" by Paul ( H.R. 1348 ), and the Senate "Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009" by Sanders ( S. 513 ), require the Federal Reserve to publish information on financial assistance provided to various entities during the 2008 bailout . This bill creates

798-484: The bill at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on February 27. Paul charges the Federal Open Market Committee with being "less than transparent" with its secret meetings. In an April 2009 editorial, Paul thanked the Fed for its responsive attempt to enhance transparency and accountability, but called it "window dressing at best, and it's utterly useless at worst". As

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836-524: The bill to the U.S. House of Representatives of the 111th Congress on February 26, 2009, at which point it was referred to the Committee on Financial Services. Its 11 original cosponsors were Neil Abercrombie ( D - HI ), Michele Bachmann ( R - MN ), Roscoe Bartlett ( R - MD ), Paul Broun ( R - GA ), Dan Burton ( R - IN ), Walter B. Jones ( R - NC ), Steve Kagen ( D - WI ), Ted Poe ( R - TX ), Bill Posey ( R - FL ), Denny Rehberg ( R - MT ), and Lynn Woolsey ( D - CA ). He immediately promoted

874-455: The central bank, usually on a short-term basis, to meet temporary shortages of liquidity caused by internal or external disruptions. The interest rate charged on such loans by a central bank is called the bank rate , discount rate , policy rate , base rate , or repo rate , and is separate and distinct from the prime rate . It is also not the same thing as the federal funds rate or its equivalents in other currencies, which determine

912-543: The crowd. Support for the bill has also come from those on the left outside of Congress. In a letter to Chairman Barney Frank of the House Financial Services Committee, Ranking Member Spencer Bachus and its members, several progressives such as bloggers Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake, Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism, author Naomi Klein , labor leaders President Richard Trumka of the AFL–CIO ,

950-495: The discount window as of 15 March 2023 , a new record. It was much more popular than the new Bank Term Funding Program , which distributed $ 12 billion. In the eurozone the discount window is called Standing Facilities , which are used to manage overnight liquidity. Qualifying counterparties can use the Standing Facilities to increase the amount of cash they have available for overnight settlements using

988-404: The discount window. In 2006, these were the primary credit rate (the most common), the secondary credit rate (for banks that are less financially sound), and the seasonal credit rate. The Federal Reserve does not publish information regarding institutions' eligibility for primary or secondary credit. Primary and secondary credit is normally offered on a secured overnight basis, while seasonal credit

1026-451: The federal funds rate from 100 basis points to 50 basis points. On March 16, 2008, concurrent with measures to rescue Bear Stearns from insolvency and to stem further institutional bank runs , the Federal Reserve announced significant and temporary changes to primary credit lending terms. The maximum term of loans was extended from thirty days to ninety days. Less than a year before, the term had been only overnight. The primary credit rate

1064-568: The idea, said it would "politicize monetary policy." Support for the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 was one of the issues raised as part of the nationwide 2009 Tea Party protests . During an episode of the Glenn Beck program which broadcast April 15 from a rally at the Alamo in San Antonio , Pat Gray interviewed a local supporter of the Transparency Act, drawing cheers from

1102-609: The inclusion of the audit provisions he had been proposing for years. On March 16, 2009, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders ( I - VT ) introduced the Senate companion version, S. 604 , the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009, with the same provisions. This version was then referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs . The bill had 32 co-sponsors as of 01/28/2010. On July 6, 2009, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint attempted to amend HR 2918,

1140-401: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FRTA&oldid=984977278 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Federal Reserve Transparency Act The original version of the bill, ( H.R. 1207 ),

1178-418: The rate at which banks lend money to each other . In recent years, the discount rate has been approximately a percentage point above the federal funds rate (see Lombard credit ). Because of this, it is a relatively unimportant factor in the control of the money supply and is only taken advantage of at large volume during emergencies. The term originated with the practice of sending a bank representative to

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1216-541: Was also a bill introduced in the 116th Congress called the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2020 by Congressman Mark Green (TN-07). This bill would rescind the CARES Act provision that allows the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors to conduct meetings without complying with federal open records laws. Senator Judd Gregg called the Paul-Grayson amendment " pandering to populism ", saying

1254-461: Was also opposed by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke , Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and others from the Obama administration . Frank declined to vote for the final amendment after proposed changes made by fellow Democrat Melvin Watt representing North Carolina's 12th congressional district , which encompasses most of Bank of America hometown Charlotte , were stripped out in favor of

1292-552: Was also reduced to 3.25% from 3.50%, which cut the spread of the primary credit rate over the federal funds rate to 25 basis points from 50 basis points. The Wall Street Journal reported in November 2019 that banks were "desperate to avoid the stigma attached to accessing the window" and were "hoarding cash at levels well above what regulators require". During the March 2023 United States bank failures , banks drew $ 153 billion from

1330-447: Was combined, along with several other bills from the same committee, into The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 - Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009 ( H.R. 4173 ). The House passed the new bill on December 11, 2009 on a vote of 223-202. The vote was mostly along party lines, with no Republicans voting for the bill. Paul, objecting to some of the provisions of the combined bill, voted against passage despite

1368-528: Was echoed in the Kansas City Star . Ron Paul, Andrew Napolitano , and state representative Jim Guest promoted the bill "at length" at the crowded first CFL regional conference in St. Louis, Missouri (March 27–29), affirming Americans' "right to know where their tax dollars are going, especially those going to companies from the stimulus package". Pro-gambling group Gambling911.com is also interested in

1406-404: Was proposed by now retired Congressman Ron Paul in response to the 2008 financial crisis during the 111th United States Congress . The Senate version was introduced by Bernie Sanders ( I - VT ). ( S. 604 ). Ron Paul was disappointed with the Senate's version of the bill, stating it "guts the spirit of a truly meaningful audit of the most crucial transactions of the Fed". The bill

1444-545: Was subsequently brought up in the 112th United States Congress as ( H.R. 459 ) / S. 202 and in the 113th United States Congress as ( H.R. 24 )/ S. 209 . All three previous attempts passed in United States House of Representatives but died in the US Senate . According to its short title, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 ( H.R. 1207 ) would have amended Title 31 of

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