Audit the Federal Reserve

[Astha]

On Thursday, November 19, 2009, after several hours of heated debate, the Paul-Grayson “Audit the Fed” amendment passed 43-26 in the House Financial Services Committee. The amendment calls for a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve and replaces the opposing “placebo” amendment proposed by Mel Watt.

The Paul-Grayson initiative is an amendment to Barney Frank’s HR 3996, also known as the “Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009″. The Committee was going to vote on that bill on November 19, but Barney Frank surprisingly postponed the vote until after the Thanksgiving recess.

Ron Paul sent out the following press release shortly after the amendment passed:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Ron Paul (TX-14) is pleased to announce that his and Congressman Grayson’s amendment based on HR 1207 has passed in the Financial Services Committee by a vote of 43-26 and will be included in major banking reform legislation.

The Paul/Grayson amendment:

* Removes the blanket restrictions on GAO audits of the Fed

* Allows audit of every item on the Fed’s balance sheet, all credit facilities, all securities purchase programs, etc.

* Retains limited audit exemption on unreleased transcripts and minutes

* Sets 180-day time lag before details of Fed’s market actions may be released

* States that nothing in the amendment shall be construed as interference in or dictation of monetary policy by Congress or the GAO

“While HR 3996, if passed, will grant sweeping new powers to the Federal Reserve, at least with this amendment attached, it won’t be acting in secret anymore. This is a major victory for Federal Reserve transparency and government accountability,” stated Congressman Paul.

Suite: http://www.ronpaul.com/on-the-issues/audit…eserve-hr-1207/

[h16]

S'ils arrivent au bout, c'est une excellente surprise. Reste à voir si certains adversaires ne vont pas vider l'audit de sa substance…

[Nick de Cusa]

Ron Paul a dit que c'est deja le cas, dans une interview au NYT, je crois.