S.Amdt. 1564

SA 1564. Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Tester, and Mr.
Tillis) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the
bill H.R. 748, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the
excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored health coverage; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. _____. OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS.

Section 14(b) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 355) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3)(A) In unusual and exigent circumstances, the Federal
Open Market Committee may, by a majority vote, authorize any
Federal reserve bank, during such periods as the Committee
may determine, to buy and sell, at home or abroad--
``(i) investment grade bills, notes, bonds, or warrants,
none of which may have a maturity of less than 6 months, by
any corporation, company, or similar legal entity; and
``(ii) investment grade bills, notes, bonds, and warrants,
none of which may have a maturity of less than 6 months, by
any State, county, district, political subdivision,
instrumentality of a political subdivision, territory,
possession, municipality, or Indian tribe, as defined in
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304), in the United States,
including irrigation, drainage, and reclamation districts.
``(B) All actions under this paragraph shall be subject to
such limitations, restrictions, and regulations as the
Federal Open Market Committee may prescribe. In prescribing
such limitations, restrictions, and regulations, the Federal
Open Market Committee shall take into account the need to
protect taxpayers from losses.
``(C) Assets purchased under this paragraph shall be
denominated in United States dollars.
``(D) Not later than 7 days after the exercise of the
authority in subparagraph (A) that occurs on or after January
1, 2021, the Chairman of the Board shall--
``(i) appear before the Majority Leader of the Senate, the
Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives, the chair and ranking members of the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House
of Representatives describing--
``(I) why action under this paragraph is necessary to
achieve the monetary policy objectives under section 2A; and
``(II) how the Federal Open Market Committee has exhausted
all other reasonable options available in achieving the
monetary policy objectives under section 2A; and
``(ii) submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial
Services of the House of Representatives a report on the
description described in clause (i)(I).
``(E)(i) Not later than 3 days after the date of enactment
of this paragraph, the Federal Open Market Committee shall
meet and vote on whether to exercise the authority under this
paragraph with respect to the national emergency declared by
the President under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C.
1601 et seq.) with respect to the coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19).
``(ii) If the Federal Open Market Committee does not
approve to exercise the authority under this clause (i), the
Board shall submit to the Majority Leader of the Senate, the
Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives, the chair and ranking members of the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House
of Representatives a notice describing why such action is not
necessary to achieve the monetary policy objectives under
section 2A.
``(F) Upon the expiration of the unusual and exigent
circumstances, it should be a priority of the Federal Open
Market Committee to achieve the monetary policy objectives
under section 2A without the use of the authority provided
under this paragraph as soon as practicable while minimizing
the disruptions to the market and general economy of the
United States.''.

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