Humphrey-Hawkins Act
The Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act, sponsored by Hubert Humphrey and Augustus Hawkins, was signed by President Carter in October 1978. It required the Federal Reserve chair to testify before Congress twice a year on monetary policy and economic projections. Until then the Fed operated almost entirely in private. Even FOMC minutes were released with a five-year delay. The testimony requirement was the first durable crack in an institutional culture of opacity that had gone essentially unchallenged since 1913.
Until Humphrey-Hawkins, the Fed operated almost entirely in private. Even FOMC minutes were released with a five-year delay. Today those same minutes are released within three weeks — and watched in real-time by every major trading desk.
04 · SEC & Regulated Media
FDR's reforms imposed disclosure on markets and licensing on broadcast. The SEC required public companies to tell the truth. The Fed published minutes — but with a five-year delay. Secrecy became official policy.
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