Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act
HB1846, titled the Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act, would abolish the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and each Federal Reserve Bank one year after enactment. It would also repeal the Federal Reserve Act on the same timeline, effectively dismantling the current federal central banking framework established under that law.
During the one-year wind-down period, the bill assigns the Federal Reserve Chair a limited role in managing employees, compensation, benefits, assets, and liabilities solely for dissolution purposes, subject to Treasury approval. The Office of Management and Budget would liquidate the Federal Reserve’s assets, with net proceeds transferred to the Treasury’s General Fund after claims are paid and stock is redeemed. Outstanding liabilities, including retirement and other employee benefits, would become obligations of the Secretary of the Treasury and be paid from those proceeds.
The bill would significantly alter federal law by repealing the Federal Reserve Act and eliminating the statutory basis for the Federal Reserve System. It would shift responsibility for winding up the central bank’s affairs to the Treasury Department and OMB, while creating a temporary transition structure for liquidation, claims resolution, and reporting to Congress. The measure would affect Federal Reserve employees, member bank stockholders, creditors, and any parties with claims or benefit rights tied to the System.
The available context shows no committee hearing transcript and no recorded votes, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to gauge broader legislative sentiment. Based on the bill’s sponsors and subject matter, the proposal appears to reflect strong anti-Federal Reserve sentiment among its supporters, but the absence of recorded discussion suggests no consensus or negotiated compromise is evident in the available materials.
The main point of contention is the bill’s sweeping abolition of the central bank and repeal of the Federal Reserve Act, which would be a major structural change to U.S. monetary policy and financial regulation. Likely areas of dispute include the economic consequences of eliminating the Federal Reserve, the handling of assets and liabilities, the treatment of employees and retirees, and whether Treasury could manage the transition without disrupting financial markets.
HB1846 would repeal the Federal Reserve Act and abolish the Board of Governors and the 12 Federal Reserve Banks after a one-year transition period, replacing the current central banking structure with a liquidation and wind-down process overseen by the Federal Reserve Chair, the Treasury Department, and OMB. It would transfer net liquidation proceeds to the Treasury’s General Fund and make Treasury responsible for remaining liabilities, including employee retirement and benefit obligations, thereby substantially changing federal statutes governing monetary policy, banking oversight, and the legal existence of the Federal Reserve System.
There is no recorded committee testimony or vote history in the provided materials, so formal legislative sentiment cannot be measured from debate or roll call data. The bill’s introduction by multiple Republican members associated with anti-Federal Reserve views suggests support from a faction favoring a smaller or abolished central bank, while the lack of further action indicates the proposal is likely controversial and not broadly embraced in the available record.
The central controversy is whether the Federal Reserve should exist at all: supporters of abolition view the institution as unnecessary or harmful, while opponents would likely argue that eliminating it would destabilize monetary policy, banking supervision, and financial markets. Additional likely points of contention include the practical feasibility of liquidating the Fed’s assets, the treatment of employees and retirees, the assumption of liabilities by Treasury, and the risk of disrupting contracts, reserves, and other financial operations tied to the Federal Reserve System.