In a formal sense, Congress is the Federal Reserve's superior. Members of Congress have jealously asserted their right to guide the System, and have occasionally aided the Federal Reserve in fending off administrations seeking a larger role in monetary policy. Members of Congress have repeatedly demanded a pledge from members of the Board of Governors that the Federal Reserve is responsible to Congress. In one exchange in the 1950s, Board Chairman William McChesney Martin was provided with a slip of paper reading “The Federal Reserve is an agency of Congress” and asked to tape it to his mirror so that he could see it each morning as he shaved.

In the early 1980s, the combined effects of high interest rates and high unemployment provoked considerable anger and concern in Congress. Many bills and resolutions were introduced to instruct the Federal Reserve about the conduct of policy. Some of those proposals were sponsored by influential members of Congress, including members of the leadership of both parties. If adopted, some of this legislation would have had the effect of completely removing the autonomy of the Federal Reserve and of substituting for it congressional determination of monetary policy objectives and, in some cases, operating procedures.