As the “Audit the Fed” Bills (HR1207/S604) are adding more co-sponsors, a bill has been inroduced to limit the scope of any Federal Reserve audit. An email message from The Audit the Fed Coalition states, “On Tuesday, Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Bob Corker (R-TN) introduced “The Federal Reserve Accountability Act,” an attempt to derail HR 1207/S 604 by passing a bill that prevents a full audit and full transparency from America’s secretive central bank.
While language in this bill would permit a limited audit of the Fed’s actions in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and similar high profile bailouts, it would not allow an audit to review the Fed’s inflation of the money supply or its agreements with foreign central banks, among other shortcomings.
Additionally, the names of the institutions who received the funds would not be available until one year after each “emergency” program ended, which is nowhere in sight.”
Where’s the “accountability”? The only way to ensure real accountability with the Federal Reserve is via a full audit brought about by passage of HR1207/S604. Anything less than a full audit of the Federal Reserve will be dishonest.
The Audit the Fed Coalition “about the audit” page states, “The Federal Reserve, the unelected central bank of the U.S., enjoys a monopoly over the flow of our nation’s money and credit but has never been completely transparent and accountable to Congress since its creation in 1913.
Over its nearly 100 year history, the Federal Reserve has presided over the near-complete destruction of the United States dollar while Congress has kept its hands off and its eyes closed. Since 1913, the dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power, aided and abetted by the Federal Reserve’s loose monetary policy…”
Currently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is allowed to “audit” the Fed, but “is prohibited from auditing:
1. transactions for or with a foreign central bank, government of a foreign country, or nonprivate international financing organization;
2. deliberations, decisions, or actions on monetary policy matters, including discount window operations, reserves of member banks, securities credit, interest on deposits, and open market operations
3. transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee; or
4. a part of a discussion or communication among or between members of the Board of Governors and officers and employees of the Federal Reserve System related to clauses (1)-(3) of this subsection of US Code.
The GAO is also prevented from conducting on-site examinations of banks or bank holding companies without the written consent of the appropriate regulatory agency.
HR 1207, The Federal Reserve Transparency Act, and S 604, The Federal Reserve Sunshine Act, would eliminate these restrictions and mandate a GAO audit of the Fed to be completed by the end of 2010, finally delivering answers to the American people about how our money is being spent.”