Is Humphrey-Hawkins still on the books?

[cthulu2016]

Since DU is a teasure trove of people sophisticated about policy... what the heck ever happened with Humphrey-Hawkins? I feel like I used to know... I know the Reagan declined to act under it and that it never amounted to anything, but is it still on the books? Are we still ostensibly required to get to full-employment? Can it be used as a valid (rhetorical) expression of US policy?

I have this fantasy of Obama announcing that unemployment this high is against the freaking law and offering a series of steps to satisfy the Humphrey-Hawkins targets. (Everyone would be scratching their heads...)

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Unemployment and inflation levels began to rise in the early 1970s, reviving fears of an economic recession. In the past, the country's economic policy had been defined by the Employment Act of 1946, which encouraged the federal government to pursue "maximum employment, production, and purchasing power" through cooperation with private enterprise. Some Congressmen, dissatisfied with the vague wording of this act, sought to create an amendment that would strengthen and clarify the country's economic policy.

The Act's sponsors embraced conventional Keynesian economic theory, which advocates aggressive government spending to increase economic demand. In particular, Keynesian theory asserts that the government can minimize the shock of business fluctuations by compensatory spending, intended to maintain or inflate investment levels by government spending.

Consistent with Keynesian theory, the Act provides for measures to create temporary government jobs to reduce unemployment, as was attempted during the Great Depression.

Somewhat contradictorily, the Act also encouraged the government to develop a sound monetary policy, to minimize inflation, and to push toward full employment by managing the amount and liquidity of currency in circulation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphrey%E2%80%93Hawkins_Full_Employment_Act

[BlueToTheBone]

1. I hope someone answers. n/t

[Angry Dragon]

2. I found this in a search

Humphrey-Hawkins

Until mid-2000, when it expired, a piece of legislation known as Humphrey-Hawkins required the Federal Open Market Committee to report to Congress on the economy and monetary policy twice a year. While Congress wrangles over new legislation, the practice continues, with reports in February and July. While they're no longer officially Humphrey-Hawkins reports, they're still colloquially called that.

Concurrently with the release of the report, the Fed chairman testifies before Congress, summing up the report. Traditionally, it is among the most important speeches given by the Fed chairman. Under Humphrey-Hawkins, the testimony was delivered first to the House Banking Committee, and to the Senate Banking Committee within several days.

The original legislation, the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978, was named for its sponsors, Sen. Hubert Humphrey and Rep. Augustus Hawkins.


http://www.thestreet.com/tsc/basics/tscglossary/humphreyhawkins.html

[cthulu2016]

3. Thank you! I didn't know it had an expiration date.

I wiki'd it but may have missed that.