In a historic vote this morning of 241-185, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3189, the Federal Oversight Reform and Modernization Act.

The FORM Act — very much including Chairman Kevin Brady’s (R-Texas) Centennial Monetary Commission legislation — is the most important legislation to pass the House addressing the Fed’s performance since the Humphrey-Hawkins Act of 1978, almost forty years ago. The passage of this legislation is historic.

The American economy has been stagnant now for 15 years. Many believe that the booms, busts, the panic of 2008, the Great Recession, and the sluggish recovery were caused in major part by bad Federal Reserve monetary policy. Congress should be applauded for exercising its constitutional authority in this area. The Freedom Caucus should give Speaker Ryan a standing ovation.

Ralph Benko, internationally published weekly columnist, co-author of The 21st Century Gold Standard, lead co-editor of the Gerald Malsbary translation from Latin to English of Copernicus’s Essay on Money, is American Principles Project’s Senior Advisor, Economics.