Is the Federal Reserve System part of the U.S. Government?

". . . the Fed is more accurately seen as a private, not a governmental institution, though with substantial governmental ties.

The ambiguity arises from a combination of misleading appearances; the fact that our President appoints (with consent of the Senate) the Chairman of the Fed to four year terms, and the 5 member Board in Washington to 14 year terms; the fact that the Fed is supposed to promote governmental fiscal policy; and the fact that the system was originally set up in law by Congress in 1913 and can be altered, nationalized or even dismantled by Congress.

. . .most Americans would be surprised to learn that almost all of what we use for money is not issued by our government, but by private banks. They have been “allowed” to form erroneous assumptions about our money and banking system that are far from reality and that serves to shield from closer scrutiny, whether the Fed is truly operating in the public interest or advancing more private agendas, either on purpose or by default.

Is the Federal Reserve System part of the U.S. Government? | Ron Paul 2012 | Sound Money, Peace and Liberty

Still think it is part of the government? Which branch--it's not Executive, Legislative, Judicial or Military; its expenses (extremely high) are not in the budget; its employees are not civil service; it is not supervised or overseen by any government agency; it has never been audited although it controls everything about our monetary system. The Federal Reserve Act describes what it can do, but not what it is. Each Federal Reserve Bank is a separate corporation owned by commercial banks in its region--does that sound like the federal government? A department owned by commercial banks?