07.05.2016

NEW YORK – The first draft of the Democratic Party's 2016 platform calls for a historic reform that would make the Federal Reserve more representative of the American people and eliminate the power of executives at financial institutions to appoint or serve as directors of the regional Federal Reserve banks. 

In response to this draft, Ady Barkan, the campaign director of Fed Up, released the following statement:

“This draft is a major step in the right direction. For the first time in living memory, the leadership of the Democratic Party is calling for major reforms to the governance of the Federal Reserve. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and the DNC Platform Drafting Committee should be commended for their work. 

But the current language is incomplete and the Fed Up campaign urges the full Platform Committee to strengthen it in two key ways during the Orlando meeting. 

First, the Federal Reserve must become a fully public institution. Nearly every central bank in the world is a completely public institution, but America's central bank retains a public-private structure, with regional Federal Reserve Banks owned by the commercial banks they are tasked with overseeing. It is incomplete to deny those financial institutions the power to select the Fed's directors while retaining ownership of the Reserve Banks. Ownership is generally accompanied by control. Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have spoken passionately about the excessive influence of Wall Street over government decision-making; the appropriate and necessary reform is to make the Federal Reserve a fully public institution owned by and accountable to the American people. 

Second, the Democratic platform draft should be amended to emphasize the Party's commitment to full employment for all communities. Two weeks ago, Hillary Clinton spoke passionately about the importance of a full employment, full potential economy. And the central theme of the Bernie Sanders campaign is that we need a growing economy with rising wages that works for all Americans. In every year between 1944 and 1988, the Democratic Party's platform included a strong commitment to full employment. The 2016 platform should reaffirm that pledge and make clear that the Party's candidates will work to build an economy with rising wages and good jobs for everyone. 

This week, the Fed Up Coalition will be delivering tens of thousands of signatures to the DNC urging them to make these reforms. We look forward to seeing the final draft that emerges from Orlando.

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www.whatrecovery.org  

Fed Up is a coalition of community organizations and labor unions across the country calling on the Federal Reserve to reform its governance and adopt policies that build a strong economy for the American public. The Fed can keep interest rates low, give the economy a fair chance to recover, and prioritize full employment and rising wages for all communities.

www.populardemocracy.org

The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.

Contact: 

Anita Jain, ajain@populardemocracy.org, 347-636-9761

Asya Pikovsky, apikovsky@populardemocracy.org, 207-522-2442