Reuters

WASHINGTON, Feb 4  – U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a Senate panel on Thursday he supports proposals to improve transparency for the Federal Reserve.

“But respectfully not to threaten the independence of it and not to limit the Fed’s capacity to do the essential thing in future crises,” the secretary told the Senate Budget Committee.

Lawmakers are considering opening the Fed’s monetary policy decision-making to congressional reviews. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the Fed have resisted that change, saying such audits would result in political pressure on Fed interest rates decisions. (Reporting by Nancy Waitz; Editing by Theodore d’Afflisio)