Fed president would be OK with changes to dual mandate

A Federal Reserve bank president would not be opposed to changing the Fed's dual mandate to have it focus exclusively on price controls.

James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said "it would be OK with me" if Congress used legislation to remove the Fed's current mandate that it maximize employment in addition to controlling inflation. Bullard made his comments in an interview with Fox Business.

"The only thing the Fed can do in the long run is control the inflation rate,” Bullard said. “And even though we have a dual mandate, we say that our best contribution to the dual mandate is to provide a stable price backdrop for the economy. Then that gives businesses and households a good platform from which they can make all of their decisions — let markets work. And then you get the best allocation of resources that you can.”

Republicans have aired near-unanimous opposition to the Fed's recent actions, including its decision to buy $600 billion of Treasury bonds in a second "quantitative easing" effort, contending it would lead to inflation and a devalued dollar.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) introduced legislation last month that would repeal the Fed's dual mandate, which was put in place in 1977. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) supported the legislation, and plans to introduce his own bill next year. And the next chairman of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), also is planning on introducing a bill removing the dual mandate in the next Congress.

Despite Bullard's comments, a Federal Reserve has officially stated it believes the dual mandate to be "appropriate."

"The Federal Reserve is not seeking a change to its statutory mandate," a Fed spokesperson said.