December 21 · Published February 4, 1994
Statement·Presser·Minutes
AGAlan GreenspanDecember 21, 1993 FOMC Minutes
Vote
- Wayne D. Angell ↑ dissented
- Messrs. Angell and Lindsey dissented because they believed that monetary policy was overly accommodative and needed to be adjusted promptly toward a more neutral stance to counter potential inflationary pressures in the economy. They referred to the long lags with which monetary policy exerts its effects on inflation and the consequent need to adjust monetary policy on a timely basis to foster the Committee's long-run objective of stable prices. They understood the difficulty of finding the appropriate circumstances for tightening actions so as to avoid unintended interpretations and repercussions in financial markets. In their judgment, economic and financial conditions were unlikely to be more favorable later and waiting risked undesirable inflationary consequences.
- Boehne
- Alan Greenspan
- Silas Keehn
- Edward W. Kelley, Jr.
- John P. LaWare
- Lawrence B. Lindsey ↑ dissented
- Messrs. Angell and Lindsey dissented because they believed that monetary policy was overly accommodative and needed to be adjusted promptly toward a more neutral stance to counter potential inflationary pressures in the economy. They referred to the long lags with which monetary policy exerts its effects on inflation and the consequent need to adjust monetary policy on a timely basis to foster the Committee's long-run objective of stable prices. They understood the difficulty of finding the appropriate circumstances for tightening actions so as to avoid unintended interpretations and repercussions in financial markets. In their judgment, economic and financial conditions were unlikely to be more favorable later and waiting risked undesirable inflationary consequences.
- William J. McDonough
- Robert D. McTeer, Jr.
- David W. Mullins, Jr.
- Susan M. Phillips
- Stern
From the minutes
FOMC minutes
Such a step would be taken with considerable reluctance. The recording in question did not contain a discussion of monetary policy, but it did involve Committee deliberations, which are protected from public disclosure by the Freedom of Information Act. Some members expressed concern that granting access to this material could be viewed as setting a precedent for the premature release of other tapes and transcripts, with adverse effects on the Committee's deliberations. However, the Committee's General Counsel expressed the opinion that the Committee could make an exception for this transcript without prejudicing its ability to withhold deliberative or other privileged materials in other transcripts under the Freedom of Information Act. The members agreed with a proposal from the Chairman that the staff of Chairman Gonzalez and of certain other Banking Committee members be allowed to listen to the tape recording of the October 15 conference call. The review would be conducted at the offices of the Board of Governors, and the Congressional staff members would be asked to keep confidential the information to be made available to them. The members indicated that it should be made clear that access to the tape in question was being undertaken solely to dispel the unfounded allegations regarding the Committee's actions. The Committee already had decided to make public with a 5-year lag lightly edited versions of all the transcripts currently in the possession of the FOMC Secretariat. These transcripts as edited will include all the deliberative materials except for highly sensitive information that can continue to be withheld under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
It was agreed that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on Thursday-Friday, February 3-4, 1994.
The meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m.
Donald L. Kohn Secretary
What changed from the previous meeting’s minutes
- Two members dissented from the unchanged policy directive, favoring immediate tightening.
- Unemployment rate fell from 6.8 percent to 6.4 percent in November.
- M2 and M3 growth strengthened in November, rising above lower end of ranges.
- Committee approved allowing Congressional staff to listen to October 15 conference call tape.
- Next meeting scheduled for February 3-4, 1994, instead of December 21.
Summary generated automatically from the two documents.