HR1091 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1091 LRB100 22037 ALS 40176 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Illinois House of Representatives believes that the actions of the Federal Reserve impact every citizen in the United States, not just Illinois; and

WHEREAS, An important component of a strong economy is maintaining a transparent one; and

WHEREAS, For nearly ten years, members of the United States Congress have introduced the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, which calls for the United States government to audit the Federal Reserve; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Reserve is a large force in the United States and global economy that has largely gone unchecked for decades; and

WHEREAS, The Reserve maintains nearly $1.6 trillion in circulation at any given time; in fiscal year 2018, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve submitted an order for approximately 7.4 billion Federal Reserve notes, valued at more than $233 billion; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Reserve is able to enact policies that can affect Americans far more than tax law and fiscal plans and can cost the citizens of the United States trillions of dollars by keeping interest rates artificially low and making destructive investments that can result in housing, market, and employment slumps; and

WHEREAS, The Fed was created by the United States Congress in 1913 as a means to centrally control the monetary system of the United States in order to avoid financial crises, but current law does not allow for Congress to audit the Fed's monetary policies; and

WHEREAS, While many believe that the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 mandated a Federal Reserve audit, the Act only applied to emergency credit facilities and procedures, rather than substantive transaction details; and

WHEREAS, The original Federal Reserve Transparency Act was introduced in 2009 in response to the 2008 financial crisis, where it was never called for a vote in the House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, On January 3, 2017, Senator Rand Paul introduced the fifth iteration of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, which has never been heard in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, despite being assigned for over one year; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the United States Congress and President Donald Trump to pass the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2017; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to President Donald Trump, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.