Economic policy decisions are set across eight regularly scheduled Federal Open Market Committee meetings each year, with minutes released three weeks after decisions.
The committee also meets at other times as needed, and calendar pages link to policy statements and meeting minutes. Committee membership changes at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the year, and the FOMC posts calendars that include future sessions and occasional two day meetings. The FOMC produces an annual Freedom of Information Act report, and the FOMC FOIA Service Center provides information on the status of FOIA requests and the FOIA process.
The Federal Reserve uses three primary tools to carry out monetary policy, open market operations, the discount rate, and reserve requirements. The Board of Governors handles the discount rate and reserve requirements, while the Federal Open Market Committee is responsible for open market operations. By adjusting these tools, the Fed alters the demand for and supply of balances that depository institutions hold at Federal Reserve Banks. Those shifts in balances change the federal funds rate, which is the interest rate at which depository institutions lend balances at the Federal Reserve to other depository institutions overnight.
Changes in the federal funds rate set off a chain of effects that influence other short term interest rates, foreign exchange rates, long term interest rates, and the amount of money and credit. Those shifts ultimately affect a range of economic variables, including employment, output, and the prices of goods and services. At each meeting, the committee reviews economic and financial conditions, determines the appropriate stance of monetary policy, and assesses risks to its long run goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth.
Committee Structure And Membership
The Federal Open Market Committee consists of twelve members, including the seven members of the Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and four other Reserve Bank presidents who serve one year terms on a rotating basis. The rotating seats are filled from four groups of banks: Boston, Philadelphia, and Richmond; Cleveland and Chicago; Atlanta, St Louis, and Dallas; and Minneapolis, Kansas City, and San Francisco. Nonvoting Reserve Bank presidents attend meetings, participate in discussions, and contribute to the committee's assessment of the economy and policy options.
Committee membership includes Jerome H. Powell as Chair and John C. Williams as Vice Chair, alongside Michael S. Barr, Michelle W. Bowman, Lisa D. Cook, Beth M. Hammack from Cleveland, Philip N. Jefferson, Neel Kashkari from Minneapolis, Lorie K. Logan from Dallas, Stephen I. Miran, Anna Paulson from Philadelphia, and Christopher J. Waller. The committee also uses alternate members and a predefined rotation for regional representation, with the First Vice President of the New York Fed serving as the alternate for the New York president.
