When the US last experienced a crisis of this magnitude, in the 1930s, the Federal Reserve System similarly came under Congressional scrutiny. The result was the Glass-Steagall Act of 1932 and 1933, which gave the Fed more leeway in lending, and the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, which allowed it to disregard earlier gold-standard rules.
国会的反应有大量先例可循。上一次经历如此规模危机时，即20世纪30年代，美联储也接受了类似的国会调查。其结果是给予美联储更大贷款自由的1932和1933年格拉斯-斯蒂格尔法案以及让美联储可以无视此前金本位规则的1934年黄金储备法案。