WASHINGTON - The Federal Open Market Committee is considering proposals to release unedited transcripts of all its meetings since 1976, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Monday.
In a letter to chairman of the House Banking Committee, Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez, Mr. Greenspan said the committee would consider the requests at its meeting today.
"These issues are of great importance to the nation because of their impact on the deliberative process of the FOMC and the quality of monetary policy," he wrote.
Last week, Rep. Gonzalez the Fed to hand over all transrcipts and recordings of the committee's meetings. He learned of the existence of these records when Mr.Greenspan testified before the House Banking Committee in October.
Letter to Greenspan
"With the public revelation of the existence of the FOMC transcript, I believe we now both have an interest in addressing the issue of public access to information on the activities of the FOMC," the Texas Democrat wrote in a letter to the Fed Chairman.
Currently, the Fed releases only summary minutes of the monetary policy meetings six week after the fact. But Rep. Gonzalez has proposed legislation that would require the Fed to release a full record of the meetings.
Rep. Gonzalez said in a letter Monday to Mr. Greenspan that he expects "to receive the materials immediately after the conclusion of tomorrow's FOMC meeting."
