The Fed today The Federal Reserve System’s current mandate of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates was established by an amendment to the Federal Reserve Act in 1977.
The Congress, in effect, recognized the principle of instrument independence by requiring that the Federal Reserve Board report semiannually directly to the Congress about the Board’s and the FOMC’s plans to meet these objectives and by exempting monetary policy from Government Accountability Office (GAO) review as part of the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978.