Fed chief sets dates to address GOP Congress

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will deliver her semiannual report to Congress before the Senate Banking Committee on Feb. 24, a spokeswoman for Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) told The Hill on Friday.

Yellen will also testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Feb. 25, according to a spokesman for Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).

{mosads}This will be Yellen’s first time before the new Republican-controlled Senate. She will likely face questions surrounding the central bank’s policies, particularly the timing related to raising interest rates, which have remained at zero percent since the 2008 economic collapse. Most economists think rates will increase some time between mid-2015 and early 2016.

But she will also face questions on the Fed’s transparency. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has renewed an effort to subject the Federal Reserve to audits from the Government Accountability Office. Yellen vehemently opposes the bill, saying it would politicize the Fed and compromise its independence.

On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) sent a letter to the central bank, saying they were “disturbed” about a lack of transparency for how the agency handled 2012 leaks that contained information capable of influencing financial markets.