Organize Florida activists protest Trump infrastructure plan
Progressive activists gathered on the shores of Lake Parker on Thursday to air their discontent with the Trump administration’s outline for a nationwide infrastructure improvement plan.
The...
Progressive activists gathered on the shores of Lake Parker on Thursday to air their discontent with the Trump administration’s outline for a nationwide infrastructure improvement plan.
The plan, outlined broadly in a six-page memo released last month, amounts to placing heavy burdens on the poor through flat user fees like tolls, subsidizing private companies and ignoring public transportation, school facilities and clean energy, said activists with Organize Florida, a project of the Center for Popular Democracy, a left-leaning political advocacy group.
Read the full article here.
Jersey City Could Be Next To Guarantee Workers Paid Sick Days
ThinkProgress - September 4, 2013, by Bryce Covert - Jersey City, NJ Mayor Steven Fulop (D) is pushing a bill that would require most businesses to offer workers paid sick days. Employers with 10...
ThinkProgress - September 4, 2013, by Bryce Covert - Jersey City, NJ Mayor Steven Fulop (D) is pushing a bill that would require most businesses to offer workers paid sick days. Employers with 10 or more workers would have to provide up to five paid sick days a year, and workers would earn a day off for each 30 days they work.
Fulop will propose his bill to the City Council next week, where it is thought to have good chances of passing given that the majority of the members are aligned with him. He has called such a law a matter of “basic human dignity.”
If the bill passes, Jersey City would join New York City; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; and Washington, DC as cities that guarantee paid sick days, as well as the state of Connecticut. A statewide push in New Jersey to have such a law cover the entire state began with a bill that was introduced in the spring. Massachusetts is also fighting for such a law.
Across the country, 40 percent of private sector workers, including 80 percent of low-income workers, don’t have access to paid sick days. While opponents of such legislation usually claim that it will add too much of a financial burden on businesses, research has shown that the opposite is true. Washington, DC’s law has had no negative impact on business. San Francisco’s had little negative effect and strong business support, while it was even found to have spurred job growth. Connecticut’s has come with little cost andhuge potential upsides. On the other hand, lost productivity due to sick workers who can’t take days off costs the average employer $225 per employee per year.
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Banks eye changes to CEO gatherings
BANKS EYE CHANGES TO CEO GATHERINGS — When the Financial Services Forum holds its next meeting, a key item on the agenda may well be the fate of the organization representing CEOs of the nation's...
BANKS EYE CHANGES TO CEO GATHERINGS — When the Financial Services Forum holds its next meeting, a key item on the agenda may well be the fate of the organization representing CEOs of the nation's largest banks, insurers and asset managers.
Sources familiar with the matter told M.M. that some banks are ready to hash out whether it makes sense to keep investing in the group, wind it down or consider other options, including merging its functions with those of another trade organization. The CEOs are scheduled to meet next in October. Its members include the heads of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Washington's banking industry insiders have been chattering about the direction of the group since longtime president and chief executive Rob Nichols was named last year as head of the larger American Bankers Association. The ABA represents a broad range of small, regional and large banks.
"There's an ongoing debate among all the banks whether it's worth having all these different trade associations," one source familiar with discussions said.
Forum spokeswoman Laena Fallon did not comment on any CEO discussions about overhauling the organization.
“The Forum CEOs are looking forward to their annual fall meeting and are working together on a number of shared industry priorities including cybersecurity, strengthening the financial system, and helping provide credit to drive the economy forward," Fallon said.
JACKSON HOLE KICKOFF — The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's annual economic symposium starts today in Jackson Hole. The main event for the markets will be tomorrow morning's speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on the Fed's "monetary policy toolkit." Bloomberg's Steve Matthews and Jeff Black expect that "any description she offers of the U.S. economy will probably be crafted to keep an interest-rate rise on the table for the central bank’s policy meeting next month — without committing it to act." http://bloom.bg/2bOzoxt.
The Wall Street Journal's Greg Ip argues that central bankers are facing big questions about their relevance, because of the persistence of slow economic growth since the 2008 crisis and therefore low interest rates. He lays out what they may do next: http://on.wsj.com/2bWVnp2.
'FED UP' MEETING AHEAD OF THE FESTIVITIES — In a sign of the movement's growing clout, a coalition of labor and community groups banding together as "Fed Up" expect at least seven Fed presidents and one Fed governor to show up at a public meeting in Jackson Hole this afternoon. Among other things, they will talk about reforming the Fed's structure and how monetary policy affects working-class communities. Fed Up expects the attendee list to include Fed Governor (and potential Clinton Treasury Secretary) Lael Brainard, New York Fed President William Dudley, Kansas City Fed President Esther George and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari.
The meeting will be livestreamed here at 6:30 p.m. ET: http://bit.ly/2bAZAuy.
Fed Up director Ady Barkan told M.M. that a major topic of discussion will be a proposal to overhaul the structure of the Fed to minimize the influence of commercial banks. "We're going to be asking them whether they support that, and why not if they don't," Barkan said.
HAPPY THURSDAY — It's been a pleasure serving as your guest host the last couple of weeks. I'm handing it over to my colleagues tomorrow, so please keep sending tips to Pro Financial Services editor Mark McQuillan: mmcquillan@politico.com. Happy to keep in touch on Twitter @zachary.
THIS MORNING ON POLITICO PRO FINANCIAL SERVICES – VIctoria Guida on the GAO's opinion on community-based flood insurance -- and to get Morning Money every day before 6 a.m. -- please contact Pro Services at (703) 341-4600 or info@politicopro.com.
DRIVING THE DAY — Hillary Clinton will give a speech on the "disturbing 'alt-right' philosophy" of Donald Trump's campaign; 3 p.m. ET in Reno, Nev. ... Fed Up meets with Federal Reserve officials at 6:30 p.m. as the economic symposium begins in Jackson Hole. ...
FOR YOUR FALL CALENDAR — A federal appeals court has scheduled Oct. 24 oral arguments in the government's fight to keep MetLife under scrutiny of the Federal Reserve because of its potential systemic risks.
TIME TO MEASURE THE DRAPES, MAJORITY LEADER SCHUMER? — The New York Times gives Democrats a 60 percent chance of retaking the Senate. http://nyti.ms/2bOAPfg.
HOW DELAWARE DEFEATED CORPORATE SUNSHINE — A 3,000-word Reuters investigation on the state's fight against proposals that would reveal the owners of corporate shell companies: "[T]he proposed law continues to languish, thanks in part to [Delaware Secretary of State Jeffrey] Bullock. He was neither the first nor the only official to take up the fight, but became a leader in defending the status quo as worldwide support for change gained traction." http://reut.rs/2c8f8vb.
GOVERNMENT AT ODDS WITH ITSELF ON STUDENT LOANS — Bloomberg's Shahien Nasiripour on how the CFPB has become student loan borrowers' advocate against the Education Department: "Both the [CFPB] and the Obama administration share the same goal: improved customer service and fewer loan delinquencies. But industry observers see the administration as more accommodating to the industry's needs, while the consumer bureau has made clear that it's ready to sue. It's as if the Obama administration is using a carrot while the consumer bureau is brandishing a stick." http://bloom.bg/2bjb5uv.
EX-FED OFFICIAL WARNS AGAINST GOING EASY ON INFLATION — Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh argues in a WSJ opinion piece that central bankers should resist calls to accommodate higher inflation, which has yet to rear its head, despite low interest rates: "A new inflation target would undermine the Fed’s commitment to any policy framework. It would please the denizens of Wall Street who pine for still-looser Fed policy. And households would be understandably miffed to receive a new lecture on unconventional monetary policy — this one on the benefits of higher prices." http://on.wsj.com/2bhsAqQ.
U.S., EU DUKE IT OUT OVER APPLE, TAXES — The FT's Barney Jopson and Arthur Beesley on the intensifying feud: "The U.S. has launched a stinging attack on the European Commission in a last-ditch bid to dissuade Brussels from hitting Apple with a demand for billions of euros in underpaid taxes. In a sharp escalation of the transatlantic feud, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a rare warning on Wednesday that Brussels was becoming a 'supernational tax authority' that threatened international agreements on tax reform. The criticism comes as the European Commission is finalizing a probe into an alleged sweetheart tax deal that Ireland granted to Apple, the biggest single case in a crackdown on corporate tax avoidance across the EU. After prolonged delays, a definitive ruling is expected next month." http://on.ft.com/2bhuJT5.
FLOOD INSURANCE POLITICS IN LOUISIANA SENATE RACE — Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon endorsed Republican Rep. Charles Boustany in the race for the state's open U.S. Senate seat, arguing that he is "the only candidate I trust to fight for affordable flood insurance." Congress faces a September 2017 deadline to reauthorize the government-run National Flood Insurance Program. "I look forward to working with Commissioner Donelon to write common-sense flood insurance policy as Louisiana’s next United States Senator when Congress begins work on reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program in 2017," Boustany said in a statement.
NYT'S TAKE ON GOLDMAN CATERING TO THE 'COMMON MAN' — From William Cohan in DealBook: "As it has done many times in its past to survive and to thrive, Goldman is in the process of reinvention. This explains Marcus, its new online lending business named after the company’s founder, Marcus Goldman, along with GS Bank, its online savings account business with no minimum balance requirements. After all these years, Goldman Sachs has suddenly discovered retail banking. But it is not out of altruism or charity, nor is it nefarious. It is all about making money from money, which has always been Goldman’s specialty." http://nyti.ms/2bCDhcf.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-money/2016/08/banks-eye-change...
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By ZACHARY WARMBRODT
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Progressive Group Sues Fed, Seeking Information on Presidential Selection
Progressive Group Sues Fed, Seeking Information on Presidential Selection
The left-leaning Center for Popular Democracy on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Federal Reserve, seeking to shine light on the central bank’s president selection process....
The left-leaning Center for Popular Democracy on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Federal Reserve, seeking to shine light on the central bank’s president selection process.
The lawsuit, filed under the Freedom of Information Act, is a product of the “Fed Up” campaign to strip private bankers’ influence from the Fed’s top rungs and increase transparency in its leadership selection. The suit was filed after the Fed ignored a FOIA request filed in August seeking information on president selections in 2015 and 2016, the group said.
“The leaders of the twelve Reserve Banks are among the most powerful and influential actors in shaping the nation’s monetary policies, yet the process by which they are chosen is completely non-transparent,” the group wrote in the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
The lawsuit comes as Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, prepares to leave the bank in February.
“The public has a right to obtain records about how the Federal Reserve’s leaders are selected, and there is no justification for the Fed’s withholding of basic information about its governance,” said Connie Chan, an attorney representing Fed Up, in a statement. “The fact that Fed Up has to bring this FOIA lawsuit is itself further evidence of the Fed’s lack of transparency.”
By Tara Jeffries
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Whose Recovery? We’re ‘Fed Up’
The Fed Up campaign made their presence known in Jackson Hole, Wyoming hoping to convince the Republican Party that the Federal Reserve is ruining the economy. CNBC’s Heesun Wee and campaigner...
The Fed Up campaign made their presence known in Jackson Hole, Wyoming hoping to convince the Republican Party that the Federal Reserve is ruining the economy. CNBC’s Heesun Wee and campaigner Connie Razza discuss.
Duration: 12:05
Source: MSNBC
Puerto Rico Activists Crash Federal Reserve Panel With Creative Protest
Puerto Rico Activists Crash Federal Reserve Panel With Creative Protest
NEW YORK — Over a dozen activists descended on a building where Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen and her three living predecessors were speaking on Thursday to demand that the Fed bail out...
NEW YORK — Over a dozen activists descended on a building where Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen and her three living predecessors were speaking on Thursday to demand that the Fed bail out Puerto Rico’s cash-strapped government.
The demonstrators, who are affiliated with the progressive Fed Up coalition, distributed Puerto Rican flags and empanadas as Puerto Rican music played outside Manhattan’s International House, a student residence. Yellen was there for an unprecedented panel discussion alongside past Fed chairs Ben Bernanke, Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan, who participated via videostream.
The activists were joined by Puerto Rican lawmaker Manuel Natal, who was in town to participate in a panel discussion hosted by City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito on Friday.
“They have two mechanisms under their authority to help Puerto Rico: one is to provide a bailout to Puerto Rico similar to the one they did to banks, the same banks that are now in Puerto Rico making a fortune out of our fiscal situation,” Natal said. “And the second would be to buy our debt” and charge Puerto Rico interest rates that are lower than the market would offer.
The activists claim that since the Fed had the authority to buy trillions of dollars of bad debt from Wall Street banks after the 2008 financial crisis, it can do the same for the debt of Puerto Rico.
Economic observers with knowledge of the Fed’s functions consider that argument dubious. Joseph Gagnon, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics who was an economist at the Fed Board of Governors for many years, said that the Fed is not allowed to buy municipal debt — of the kind Puerto Rico owes — that comes due over a period longer than six months. He also said such a purchase would be inconsistent with the Fed’s dual mandate of maintaining price stability and full employment.
The Fed has “never bailed out any insolvent entity as far as I know. They always demand collateral sufficient to cover any loan,” Gagnon said, as the Fed did when it provided aid to major U.S. banks.
Natal, the lawmaker, also believes some of Puerto Rico’s debt has been issued unconstitutionally and can therefore be nullified.
Greg Williams, a spokesman for Jubilee USA, a coalition of faith-based groups that advocates for global debt relief policies, declined to endorse a Fed bailout, but suggested the Fed could broker a deal instead.
“We support a proposal where the Fed facilitates a restructuring process,” Williams said.
More important than the details of the demonstrators’ demands, however, is the protest’s political symbolism in the midst of a heated battle over Puerto Rico’s future. The demonstration was perhaps the most colorful in a series of political moves and counter-moves by the Puerto Rican government and its sympathizers on one hand and the commonwealth’s bondholders and their allies on the other. Both seek to influence a congressional rescue plan that could enable Puerto Rico to restructure its debts.
Members of Congress from both parties are negotiating changes to the draft of a relief bill released last week by the House Committee on Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over U.S. territories.
But many in Puerto Rico, and some progressives in the mainland United States, object to the Washington-based federal oversight board the bill would introduce to audit Puerto Rico’s finances and recommend reforms. Under the terms of the bill, Puerto Rico would pursue voluntary compromises with its creditors; failing that, the board could greenlight court-supervised debt restructuring that would force bondholders to accept the losses.
Those critics of the draft bill — including lawmaker Natal — view the board as having the trappings of American colonial rule over Puerto Rico.
Critics of the draft House bill say it has the trappings of American colonial rule over Puerto Rico.
They also argue that Puerto Rico should not have to meet any conditions to gain access to court-supervised debt restructuring. Puerto Rico, unlike the fifty mainland states, lacks the power to grant its municipalities and public corporations federal bankruptcy protections.
Puerto Rico is taking a multi-pronged approach to secure debt relief that appears designed to increase its leverage with creditors and win terms that are as favorable as possible.
The island’s governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, signed a bill on Wednesday that would empower him to declare a state of emergency and enact a moratorium on the island’s $70 billion debt. Puerto Rico’s next major debt payment — a $422 million tranche — comes due on May 1.
Daniel Hanson, a Puerto Rico specialist for the financial analysis firm The Height, wrote in an email newsletter that Puerto Rico’s creditors will likely challenge the moratorium in court, where Puerto Rico’s “playbook is not likely to be persuasive to American courts adjudicating the contracted rights of creditors.”
Garcia Padilla has said the island is incapable of paying its debts in full. Puerto Rico has enacted spending cuts and tax hikes in recent years that have stifled its economy and depleted its social services, creating a situation that many people already characterize as a humanitarian crisis.
Puerto Rico also argued for the right to enforce a local bankruptcy law that went before the Supreme Court last month after lower courts had blocked the island from putting it into effect. The high court is expected to rule in the case by late June.
In Congress, Democrats sensitive to Puerto Rico’s plight — and solicitous of the votes of former island residents living on the mainland — hope to dilute some of the proposed oversight board’s sweeping powers.
The Height’s Hanson, however, expects subsequent iterations of the House bill to be “more creditor-friendly,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, organizations representing Puerto Rico’s powerful creditors have stepped up their efforts to amend the legislation to limit the restructuring authority that the island would get. The commonwealth’s bondholders include a significant number of so-called vulture funds, which are hedge funds that have bought its debt from other creditors at discounted rates on the promise of recovering the obligations’ original full-dollar value.
A group called Main Street Bondholders, which claims to represent ordinary retirees, has created a web site attacking the draft House bill for granting Puerto Rico “super Chapter 9” bankruptcy protections.
Main Street Bondholders is associated with the conservative seniors group 60 Plus, which played an active role in the fight against the Affordable Care Act. The New York Times reported in December that 60 Plus is funded by a handful of large, anonymous donors and was recruited into the effort by a Republican public relations firm that also represents BlueMountain Capital, a creditor that has been outspoken against federal government help for the island.
The fight over whether to help Puerto Rico has reached the bottom rung of American discourse — cable news ads paid for by undisclosed donors. The ad, which ran on CNN and was paid for by the Center for Individual Freedom, urges Congress to “stop the Washington bailout of Puerto Rico.” The Virginia-based conservative group does not disclose its donors. It was founded in 1998 to combat government restrictions on smoking.
The CFIF did not respond to a Huffington Post question about whether any of its funders have a financial stake in the outcome of the Puerto Rico bailout.
By Daniel Marans & Ben Walsh
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City Municipal ID Cards Could Boost Immigrant Business
Crain's New York Business - July 8, 2014, by Chris Bragg - An initiative creating an identification card for New York City residents could allow hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants to...
Crain's New York Business - July 8, 2014, by Chris Bragg - An initiative creating an identification card for New York City residents could allow hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants to open bank accounts, where identification is required. That is just one way the law could boost the city's economy, according to advocates for the card, though thorny security concerns for the city remain unresolved.
Aimed at making life easier for the city's half-million undocumented immigrants, the bill to create a municipal identification card was passed by the City Council last month, and Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign it. A secondary impact could be boosting immigrants' spending and entrepreneurship, say advocates.
"The multiplier effect of the municipal ID is going to be huge because of the financial empowerment aspect," said Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition. "People who don't have IDs or a bank account can't participate in the financial system."
Applicants for the cards, which the city is expected to begin issuing in late 2014 or early 2015, will have to prove their identities with birth certificates or passports from any country. They will also have to prove their city residency with documents such as utility bills or pay stubs.
The cards will include a person's name, picture, address and date of birth. But questions remain whether that will be enough for banks, which have security concerns and have not yet publicly committed to accepting the IDs. For one, undocumented immigrants do not have Social Security numbers.
Mr. Choi believes these immigrants could apply for Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), a tax-processing number for which foreign workers can apply. Banks currently have inconsistent polices on whether to accept ITINs in lieu of Social Security numbers, but Mr. Choi thinks that having the city government's full weight behind the initiative will prod the institutions to accept them.
Banks have concerns about the cards being secure enough, and fear that accounts could be used for money laundering. Whether or not banks large and small decide to accept the ID cards will likely rest on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and state Department of Financial Services giving their sign-offs, according to Brian Blake, vice president of Spring Bank, a community lender that focuses primarily on low-income and underserved neighborhoods.
"There are a lot of banks that have flexibility above the minimum requirements to open an account, and below that minimum there's no flexibility," Mr. Blake said. "We try to be as open-minded as possible, as far as the regulators allow."
Although the City Council overwhelmingly passed the bill, the measure faced opposition from the chamber's three Republican members, who cited security concerns. Republicans in Albany are set to make the cards a campaign issue in the 2014 election, saying they legitimize immigrants who are here illegally and create the potential for fraud and abuse.
Another key question is whether a broad swath of New Yorkers—not just undocumented immigrants—will apply for the municipal ID cards. Advocates say that for immigrants to avoid being stigmatized, card ownership must extend beyond those living here illegally.
To that end, the city is planning on putting benefits such as discounts to museums on the cards.
That could encourage a whole new population to take in New York's cultural institutions—including both undocumented immigrants and citizens—although the details have yet to be worked out. Cities that have passed municipal ID laws, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Haven, Conn., have employed these incentives.
Signing leasesThe cards are also intended to ease holders' abilities to sign leases and give them access to government buildings, which often require identification, said Andrew Friedman, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a New York-based group that released a study on the impact of similar laws around the country.
That could make it easier for entrepreneurial immigrants to deal with regulators and other gatekeepers of the area's economy.
"For immigrant-owned small businesses and vendors seeking to open and get a license, it makes a huge difference," Mr. Friedman said.
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Queens activist Ana Maria Archila takes center stage in elevator showdown with Flake
Queens activist Ana Maria Archila takes center stage in elevator showdown with Flake
Message delivered, message received — Queens-style.
Outerborough activist Ana Maria Archila, after angrily confronting Sen. Jeff Flake in a Capitol Hill elevator over his support of Supreme...
Message delivered, message received — Queens-style.
Outerborough activist Ana Maria Archila, after angrily confronting Sen. Jeff Flake in a Capitol Hill elevator over his support of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, said the accounts of America’s abused women were no longer falling on deaf ears after the Arizona Republican delayed a vote on the judge’s candidacy for a week.
Read the full article and watch the video here.
Más obreros hispanos de la construcción mueren en el trabajo a nivel nacional
Univision National – October 25, 2013 -
Los activista y expertos están poniendo en tela de juicio la seguridad de los trabajadores de la construcción en Nueva York, además, un...
Univision National – October 25, 2013 -
Los activista y expertos están poniendo en tela de juicio la seguridad de los trabajadores de la construcción en Nueva York, además, un estudio revela que los hispanos tienen el mayor porcentaje de accidentes de trabajo en ese sector de la ‘gran manzana’.
¿Qué opinas sobre la situación de los hispanos que se dedican a la construcción?
En Nueva York, anualmente 75 trabajadores de construcción mueren por accidentes, una cifra que a nivel nacional supera los 4 mil, reportó Blanca Rosa Vílchez a Univision.
El 41 por ciento de los trabajadores de construcción en Nueva York son latinos; sin embargo, cuando se habla de accidentes, significan el 74% de los muertos, una estadística que en sí refleja la magnitud del problema.
Líderes comunitarios exigen soluciones
En el mismo lugar en el que un trabajador de construcción fue la última víctima mortal de un accidente, la organización que realizó el estudio y líderes comunitarios discutieron los grandes riesgos a los que se exponen diariamente estos trabajadores.
“Había momentos en que el jefe le decía que tenía que subir a una determinada altura y él no estaba acostumbrado a eso y tenía que hacerlo porque eran órdenes del jefe”, aseguró Elsa Ramos, madre de un trabajador.
Una multa para los contratistas no supera los 2 mil dólares y la muerte de un trabajador los 12 mil, además se presentó un proyecto para eliminar lo que se conoce como la “ley del andamio”.
Muchos casos no se denuncian
“Quieren hacer ese cambio para que los trabajadores no puedan seguir juicio contra una compañía de construcción aunque haya violaciones, nosotros tenemos que seguir previniendo que se haga ese cambio”, mencionó Francisco Moya, asambleísta.
Sin embargo, muchos casos ni siquiera se reportan por temor de los trabajadores.
“Ya me hicieron cirugía de la nuca en 2010 y me hicieron cirugía de la espalda en diciembre de 2012, todavía tengo dolor, ese dolor lo voy a tener toda mi vida”, afirmó Pedro Corchado, trabajador accidentado.
Otro caso es el de Francisco, quien no ha vuelto a trabajar desde que se cayó de una altura de 11 pies, la compañía para la que trabajaba dice que le dio sólo horas de entrenamiento.
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Warren Calls on Yellen to Increase Diversity at the Fed
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday committed to increasing diversity at the central bank, particularly within the Fed’s leadership ranks.
“It’s something we will continue to...
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday committed to increasing diversity at the central bank, particularly within the Fed’s leadership ranks.
“It’s something we will continue to focus on,” Yellen said during the question-and-answer period of her semiannual testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. “Diversity is an extremely important goal, and I will do everything I can to advance it.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) asked Yellen to commit to increasing diversity among the bank’s top officials, noting that 10 of the 12 Fed’s regional presidents are men. “Does the lack of diversity among the regional Fed presidents concern you?” Warren asked Yellen.
“Yes, I believe it’s important to have a diverse group of policymakers who can bring different perspectives to bear,” Yellen responded, adding that the central bank monitors hiring searches closely to make sure regional banks recruit diverse candidates.
Warren said she trusted Yellen’s commitment, but that her response shows the Fed’s selection process for regional leaders is “broken” and lacks transparency.
“You’re telling me diversity’s important, and yet you just signed off on all these folks without any public discussion about it,” Warren said. “Congress should take a hard look at reforming the regional Fed selection process so that we can all benefit from a Fed leadership that reflects a broader array of backgrounds and interests.”
Warren and other lawmakers — 116 House members and 10 senators — signed a letter to Yellen last month that urged her to fill the bank’s top echelon with more diverse leaders. Yellen responded to the letter last week affirming the need for more diversity, according to Warren.
On Monday, activists for the “Fed Up” campaign pushed for diversity in the Fed’s regional branches in a report published by the left-leaning Center for Popular Democracy.
“It’s not enough to say, ‘I’m committed to diversity,'” Dushaw Hockett, executive director of Safe Places for the Advancement of Community and Equity, another group advocating for the Fed Up campaign, said in an interview after today’s hearing. “What’s the plan? What are the mechanisms for how we get there, and how are we going to evaluate whether we’ve achieved them?”
The emphasis on diversity comes on the heels of a Government Accountability Office report showing pervasive issues with racial and gender discrimination among rank-and-file employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where 25 percent of Asian employees, 25 percent of female employees and 27 percent of black employees said they have experienced discrimination at the agency.
By Tara Jeffries
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