Barney Frank (Congressman-Massachusetts):

This is a very important hearing because it will begin the public discussion of the extraordinary powers granted to the Federal Reserve by a statute passed in the depths of the depression 60—77 years ago, which had not been used very much.

• As the Chairman of the Federal Reserve points out in his statement, it was not much used, and maybe not at all from the 1930’s to recently.
• And I will tell you, I was surprised myself to learn about it, having been on this committee for some time, and having been chairman since January of 2007. 

<section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act>

2009 0210 - GOV - Extraordinary Efforts by the Federal Reserve Bank to Provide Liquidity in Current Financial Crisis

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