Union Calendar No. 191
119th CONGRESS 1st Session |
[Report No. 119–234]
To amend the Federal Reserve Act to require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to carry out a review of discount window operations and to implement improvements to such operations, and for other purposes.
May 14, 2025
Ms. De La Cruz (for herself, Mr. Meuser, and Mr. Lucas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
September 4, 2025
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 14, 2025]
To amend the Federal Reserve Act to require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to carry out a review of discount window operations and to implement improvements to such operations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Bringing the Discount Window into the 21st Century Act”.
SEC. 2. Review of discount window operations.
Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) is amended—
(2) by adding at the end the following:
“(12) REVIEW OF DISCOUNT WINDOW OPERATIONS.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Board of Governors shall commence a review of the discount window lending programs of the Federal reserve banks (the ‘discount window’), and shall complete such review not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this paragraph.
“(B) CONTENTS.—The review required by subparagraph (A) shall include a consideration of—
“(i) the effectiveness of the discount window in providing liquidity to financial institutions, including in times of financial stress;
“(ii) whether the technology infrastructure, including means of communications, are sufficient to support the timely provision of liquidity, including in times of financial stress;
“(iii) the effectiveness of cybersecurity measures implemented with respect to discount window operations;
“(iv) the effectiveness of communications between Federal reserve banks, financial institutions, the Board of Governors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Secretary of the Treasury regarding discount window operations;
“(v) the effectiveness of the Board of Governors in providing oversight of the discount window and in ensuring consistent access to the discount window across the Federal Reserve System;
“(vi) how the discount window interacts with other providers of liquidity, including the Federal Home Loan Banks, during both normal operations and times of financial distress;
“(vii) the effectiveness of existing discount window operating hours and whether such hours should be expanded, taking into account the interaction between discount window operating hours and the operating hours of payment systems of the Federal reserve banks, such as the Fedwire Funds Service and FedNow Service;
“(viii) the impact of mobile banking and instant communications technology on depositor behavior and liquidity risk posed to financial institutions, including how the discount window can—
“(ix) the effectiveness of the discount window in light of the stigma associated with its usage, ways to reduce such stigma, and ways to improve access, operational efficiency, transparency, and timeliness of the process for financial institutions seeking advances, including on the pricing and other terms of such advances.
“(C) REMEDIATION PLAN.—After the Board of Governors completes the review required by subparagraph (A), the Board of Governors, in consultation with the Federal reserve banks, shall—
“(i) identify deficiencies with the discount window and areas for enhancing discount window effectiveness; and
“(ii) develop a written plan to remediate the identified deficiencies and implement the identified enhancements, which shall include—
“(I) an identification of actions that will be taken to enhance discount window effectiveness and remediate identified deficiencies;
“(D) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON REVIEW AND PLAN.—
“(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 365 days after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Board of Governors shall submit a report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate containing—
“(E) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—
“(i) REPORTS BY THE BOARD.—The Board of Governors shall submit an annual report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate containing a review of the effectiveness of discount window operations and a progress report on the actions taken to implement the identified enhancements described in subparagraph (C).
“(ii) REPORTS BY THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall submit an annual report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate containing a report on the progress of the Board of Governors in implementing the remediation plan required by subparagraph (C).
Union Calendar No. 191 | |||||
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[Report No. 119–234] | |||||
A BILL | |||||
To amend the Federal Reserve Act to require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to carry out a review of discount window operations and to implement improvements to such operations, and for other purposes. | |||||
September 4, 2025 | |||||
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed |