What the Fed Hadn't Said: Gonzalez Sees Red Over Undisclosed FOMC Tape Transcripts
The Federal Reserve has just disclosed it has kept transcripts from Federal Open Market Committee meetings for the past 17 years. If released, the documents would provide a rare glimpse into the discussions of top Fed policy makers. Here is a sample of the kind of information the Fed does release:</br></br>The Federal Reserve has just disclosed it has kept transcripts from Federal Open Market Committee meetings for the past 17 years. If released, the documents would provide a rare glimpse into the discussions of top Fed policy makers. Here is a sample of the kind of information the Fed does release: 3.	Annual Report: Compilation of public reports, plus details of Fed actions and financial data about the Federal Reserve system.</br></br>4.	Minutes of the FOMC: Detailed description of the discussions of top Fed policy makers at Federal Open Market Committee meetings, which are held eight or more times a year. Comments are not attributed to individuals except in the case of dissenting votes.</br></br>Secrecy is the stock in trade of central banks around the world, and the United StatesÛª Federal Reserve is no exception. For all the FedÛªs reports, published minutes of meetings and congressional testimony, it is still too secretive for some members of Congress.</br></br>In an ongoing dispute over openness at the central bank. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan yesterday confirmed that it has a potential gold mine of data previously unknown to Congress, economists and historians studying the FedÛÓa hoard of unedited transcripts made from recordings of its policy-making committee meetings stretching back to 1976.