HR 5396: Price Stability Act of 2026

HR 5396 in plain English: This bill is early in the legislative process and detailed text is not yet available. Sponsor: Rep. Hill, J. French [R-AR-2] (R) · Status: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 616.

Stated purpose

This bill aims to change the Federal Reserve's official goals by removing the requirement to pursue maximum employment, leaving the Fed with a single focus on keeping prices stable.

Arguments supporters make

• A single focus on price stability would make the Fed's mission clearer and more predictable, reducing the risk of inflation being deprioritized in favor of short-term job growth.
• Trying to balance two sometimes-conflicting goals can lead the Fed to keep interest rates too low for too long, fueling inflation that ultimately hurts everyone, especially lower-income households.
• Many other central banks operate with a single price-stability mandate and have strong track records of controlling inflation without the confusion of juggling multiple goals.

Arguments opponents make

• Removing the employment mandate could lead the Fed to raise interest rates aggressively even during recessions, causing unnecessary job losses and economic hardship for working people.
• The dual mandate has guided U.S. monetary policy for decades and reflects a broad social agreement that both inflation control and job creation are legitimate public concerns.
• Inflation and unemployment are often linked, so stripping the Fed of its employment goal does not mean employment will be ignored — it just means workers lose an official legal protection in policy decisions.

Tradeoffs

Focusing the Fed solely on price stability may produce lower inflation over time, but it could come at the cost of higher unemployment during downturns if the Fed is no longer required to weigh the impact of its decisions on jobs.

Current status in Congress: In committee.