Audit the Fed Bill to Be Voted on Soon

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UPDATE (7/19): House Republicans have just announced that “Audit the Fed” will be voted on in the House of Representatives on July 24, 25, or 26.

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Last week, the audit the Fed movement received good news that House Republican leaders plan to hold a vote on a full audit bill in July. Introduced by none other than Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), the Federal Reserve Transparency Act would require frequent thorough audits of the Fed and has already garnered 227 cosponsors ranging from Justin Amash to Dennis Kucinich. 

This is a big deal as the bill has a good chance of passing the House of Representatives. Rand Paul has already introduced companion legislation in the Senate. According to Rasmussen Polls, a whopping 80 percent of Americans favor auditing the Fed. This makes the Federal Reserve Transparency Act both good politics and good policy.

Since its inception, the Federal Reserve has never been fully audited. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a one-time, watered-down audit back in July 2011. While better than nothing, the really important things that the Fed does was off-limits. This first ever audit revealed $16 trillion in secret bailouts to corporations and banks around the world during the height of the financial crisis. What else is the Fed hiding?

The Federal Reserve Transparency Act would require comprehensive audits of the Fed on a regular basis. The results of the full audit would be examined and publicized for everyone to see. Let’s hope that this is the year that Congress finally passes a real bill to audit the Fed.

An audit is just the first step to ending the Federal Reserve.

Cosponsorship update: As of June 19th, H.R.459 had 245 cosponsors.

Cosponsorship update: As of July 4th, H.R.459 had 263 cosponsors, or 60 percent of House Members.

Cosponsorship update: As of July 18th, H.R.459 had 273 cosponsors, or 63 percent of the House.

Floor timing: We expect the House to vote on H.R.459 on July 24, 25, or 26, 2012.