US lawmakers shouldn't politicise the Federal Reserve

WHILE investors on Wall Street are wondering if and when the US Federal Reserve will resume raising interest rates, lawmakers in Washington are considering ways to make it difficult for the central bank to do its job.

Leading Republicans on Capitol Hill have launched a crusade to "audit" the Fed, including its monetary policymaking. They want to set constraints on the central bank's independence and put pressure on it to change its policy direction. In practical terms, the Congress's Fed-bashers are demanding that the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent agency that provides the Congress with audit services, investigate and produce a report appraising the central bank's handling of interest rates. These and oth…