Shadow, private, unelected, unelectable government - Fed. The Fed is run by a seven-member Board of Governors in Washington, headed by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, and 12 banks representing different regions. The governors serve 14-year terms, and there are two vacancies on the board.
The regional Fed presidents, unlike the governors, aren?t selected by politicians in Washington. Governors are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. By contrast, the Fed bank chiefs are nominated by private boards of directors, partly composed of commercial bankers, and confirmed by the Washington-based governors.Fed has the right to conduct monetary policy without US Treasury approval.
Representative Ron Paul, a Texas Republican who has called for abolishing the Fed, has gained 307 co-sponsors for legislation to require an audit of the central bank, including monetary policy. Bernanke and other Fed officials oppose the bill.- This bill has been gutted in the committee before coming to the full Congress floor.
