Quick Note On The Federal Reserve Board
However, the dirty little secret here was that the Fed always had the power to sustain the commercial paper market on its own, without any assist from Congress. We found this out the weekend after the TARP passed when the Fed announced the creation of a commercial paper lending facility.
The long and short, is yes, we absolutely have to view the Fed with suspicion, but it can play a positive role, and has so far in this crisis. It would be foolish to let Republicans take away its ability to do so in a future crisis.