Yellen, White House Step Up Opposition to Fed Oversight Bill
- Fed chair says legislation would politicize short-term policy
- White House says advisers would recommend Obama veto bill
Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergFederal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen urged lawmakers to reject proposed legislation to increase congressional oversight of the central bank that she said would harm the economy, a message later reinforced by a White House veto threat.
"The bill would severely impair the Federal Reserve’s ability to carry out its congressional mandate and would be a grave mistake, detrimental to the economy and the American people,” Yellen wrote in a letter to U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday. The legislation was introduced in July by Michigan Republican Bill Huizenga and is scheduled for a vote this week in the Republican-controlled House.