DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/1536040
MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 58 June 2025 J O U R N A L the job market than on how to respond to inflationary concerns. Fed Sets the Monetary Tone As per the Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy, monetary policy plays a significant role in stabilizing the economy in response to economic and financial disturbances. The FOMC's means of adjusting the stance of monetary policy is through changes in the target range for the federal funds rate, and the Committee judges that the level of the federal funds rate consistent with maximum employment and price stability over the longer run has declined relative to its historical average. Therefore, the federal funds rate is likely to be con- strained by its effective lower bound more frequently than in the past. Owing in part to the proximity of interest rates to the effective lower bound, the FOMC judges that downward risks to employment and inflation have increased. "The structure of the economy evolves over time, and monetary policymakers, strategies, tools, and communications need to evolve with it," Powell said. "The challenges presented by the Great Depres- sion differ from those of the Great Infla- tion and the Great Moderation, which in turn, differ from the ones we face today. A framework should be robust to a broad range of conditions but also needs to be updated periodically as the economy and our understanding of it evolve." FOMC Structure and Presidential Powers The President does not have direct control over the Federal Reserve's policy decisions but does have some influence. The President can nominate and appoint members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, including the chair, which can influence the overall direction of the Fed, and can also voice their opinions about monetary policy. The President selects one member of the Board of Governors to serve as Chair of the board, who also serves as the FOMC (Federal Open Market Commit- tee) Chair. The FOMC, which makes the actual monetary policy decisions, is made up of all seven governors and five of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Bank Presidents. While the chair has one vote like the other governors, the structure is designed to prevent one individual, including the president, from dictating decisions and policies. "From 2012-2018, the FOMC voted at each January meeting to reaffirm the consensus statement in most years without substantive changes," explained Powell of the Fed's new stance on frame- work changes. "In 2019, we changed that practice, conducting our first ever public review, and said that we would repeat such reviews at roughly a five-year inter- val. There's nothing magic about a five- year pace. We believe that frequency is appropriate to reassess structural features of the economy and to engage with the public, practitioners, and academics on the performance of our framework." HOUSE COMMITTEE PASSES FEDERAL LAND SALE MEASURE T he House Natural Resources Committee has passed its directives for a Budget Reconcil- iation Bill, which includes $18.5 billion in savings. In addition, Reps. Mark Amodei and Celeste Maloy have introduced the Land Disposal Amendment as part of the Committee's markup. The provision pertains to the disposal of federal lands in Nevada and Utah. The vote passed by a 26-17 margin, with one Democrat joining the Republicans. Reconciliation is a process that allows the President's agenda to move forward without being blocked by a Senate filibuster. It began with both the House and Senate passing an identical budget blueprint that provided clear directives for committees to identify areas for saving and investment. Congressional committees have been working to turn those directives into actionable legislation within their respective jurisdictions. All proposed legislation must meet deficit-re- ducing or revenue-related targets. The end goal is to compile all legislation passed through committees and bring it onto the chamber floors for voting in one big bill. "This week, the House Natural Re- sources Committee advanced our portion of the Budget Reconciliation Bill, deliv- ering on the Administration's commit- ment to curb reckless spending, steward taxpayer dollars responsibly, and identify smart investments," Rep. Amodei said. "Our contributions will generate a total of $18.5 billion in savings, well beyond our $1 billion target." The Land Disposal Amendment next heads to the U.S. House of Representa- tives for a full vote. The Land Disposal Amendment aims to reduce federal control of vast public areas, including large plots of land in Utah and Nevada, where federal holdings dominate the landscape. In addition, the measure seeks to also increase the production of fossil fuels. A portion of the land earmarked for sale is centered on the construction of affordable housing on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management on large plots of land out- side Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, as well as the southwestern Utah region. "In addition to these historic savings, my Nevada-centric lands amendment was included in the package," Rep. Amodei added. "The reality is most of my colleagues don't fully grasp the unique challenges Nevada faces as a state that is 80% federally owned. For years, folks from my district, and even across district lines, have voiced serious concerns about how these vast stretches of public land could threaten Nevada's economic mo- mentum and competitiveness if we run out of usable acreage." Key Bill Breakdown Specific provisions of the Land Dis- posal Amendment include: • Reinstating quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales (projected to generate $12 billion in revenue).