After the Treasury-Federal Reserve Accord in 1951, the Federal Open Market Committee focused on managing free reserves for U.S. monetary policy. They found that using repurchase agreements was more effective than outright transactions in Treasury bills for short-term operations. Repurchase agreements were not specifically authorized by law but were better suited for quickly injecting or draining reserves. Some FOMC members initially resisted using repurchase agreements, but they were eventually accepted as a useful tool for monetary policy.