Divisions Grow on Federal Reserve’s Policy Committee by Binyamin Applebaum

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve’s policy-making committee is increasingly divided between advocates for stronger steps to bolster the economy and dissenters who see little benefit and considerable risk in such efforts, according to minutes of the committee’s most recent meeting.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted at the end of a two-day meeting in September to begin an effort to reduce long-term interest rates, allowing businesses and consumers to borrow more cheaply.

The Fed disclosed at the time that three members of the 10-person board had voted against the decision. The minutes released Wednesday record that on the other side, two members wanted the Fed to take even stronger action.

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The minutes do not disclose the names of the two members who favored stronger action, although one obvious candidate is Charles L. Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, who has argued publicly that the Fed should move more aggressively to stimulate the flagging economy. 

The names of the three dissenters, however, are public: Richard W. Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; and Charles I. Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. They argued that the Fed’s actions were unlikely to help the economy and would increase the chances of a faster pace of inflation.

All three were appointed by the banks in their respective regions. All five members of the committee appointed by the President and approved by Congress voted for more action.

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