In the United States, a committee within the Federal Reserve is responsible for implementing monetary policy. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is comprised of the Board of Governors and five reserve-bank presidents, and it meets eight times throughout the year to set key interest rates and to determine whether to increase or decrease the money supply within the economy.
The FOMC buys and sells government securities to set the money supply. The is process is called open market operations. The government securities that are used in open market operations are Treasury bills, bonds and notes. If the FOMC wants to increase the money supply in the economy it will buy securities. Conversely, if the FOMC wants to decrease the money supply, it will sell securities.
