Top Banking Committee Republican Pat Toomey blasted four regional Federal Reserve banks for not responding to records requests related to “woke” initiatives.
The Pennsylvanian accused the Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, and San Francisco regional banks on Wednesday of “unacceptable stonewalling” and a lack of transparency, arguing they allowed the deadlines to pass on a “legitimate congressional oversight request.” He also threatened a legislative solution to the lack of responsiveness.
In late March, Toomey asked San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly to provide documents on its increased focus on climate change and social justice. This came after he opened an investigation into a perceived shift in the central bank system toward politically inclined research.
He also requested a briefing no later than April 6.
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Toomey expanded that inquiry to the other three regional banks and sent letters to Fed regional bank Presidents Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis, Eric Rosengren of Boston, and Raphael Bostic of Atlanta about their recent work regarding racial economic equality. He gave them a June 7 deadline to respond, which his office said came and went.
In his capacity as ranking member, Toomey has been at the forefront of targeting what his office calls “woke mission creep” by Fed banks. He contends the regional banks may be exceeding the bounds of their nonpartisan mission and straying into the political realm.
In the letter addressed to each bank individually, the senator wrote it “appears that the [bank] prefers to cloak its activities in secrecy and withhold documents from both Congress and the American people.”
“Unfortunately, it is hard not to infer that the [bank] has something to hide,” he said. “If the [bank] continues to resist a legitimate congressional oversight request, perhaps Congress should consider subjecting the [bank] and the other Federal Reserve regional banks to the same transparency and accountability laws imposed on nearly every other federal agency or organization.”
A congressional GOP aide told the Washington Examiner that the Fed’s “complete refusal” to turn over the documents requested begs the question: “What is the Fed trying to hide?”
“From woke speech codes to their dalliance with critical race theory, it appears liberal activists have taken over at some of the regional Fed banks,” the aide said.
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Toomey requested in the Wednesday letter that all four regional banks return the records relevant to his previous requests.
The Washington Examiner contacted all four banks for comment. The Minneapolis bank said it responded to Toomey’s May letter, held a meeting between his staff and two senior vice presidents, offered for Toomey to meet with the president, and provided a written response to his initial correspondence. The Boston bank declined to comment extensively but said it sent Toomey’s office a detailed letter and a briefing for staff.
A spokesperson for the San Francisco Fed said they are aware of the senator’s concerns and look forward to discussing them with his office.
