Newsroom

Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen said in a House Financial Services Committee hearing Wednesday that she doesn't vet Fed policy decisions with administration officials and that she is not seeking changes to the Dodd-Frank Act.

Yellen was testifying during a hearing on the Fed's monetary policy; a similar hearing was held Tuesday by the Senate Banking Committee.

The Fed chair was questioned first Tuesday and again Wednesday about a Fed attorney's reported criticisms last year of the Dodd-Frank Act. Both times, Yellen said she is not seeking changes to the Dodd-Frank Act, and she added Wednesday that the law gives regulators "considerable flexibility" to tailor rules for banks.

During Wednesday's hearing, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, criticized the Fed's current policymaking approach and its independence given the frequency of her private meetings with White House and Treasury officials. Questioned on this further by Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., Yellen said she doesn't discuss Fed policy decisions in those meetings.

On monetary policy, Yellen testified Tuesday that the Fed is unlikely to raise the federal funds rate for at least the next two meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee. The FOMC is scheduled to meet in March and April, then not again until June.