Posted on 09/25/2009 10:45:34 AM PDT by Palin Republic
House lawmakers want to pry open the books of the famously secretive Federal Reserve with legislation that would subject the central bank to a sweeping congressional audit.
The effort is overwhelmingly bipartisan. Hardline conservatives and liberal Democrats have banded together in their criticism of the Fed as a major power broker in the financial system that doesn't answer to Congress.
Friday's debate comes as lawmakers consider a proposal by President Barack Obama that would give the Fed new powers to prevent another economic crisis.
"Nobody in my district thinks that the Fed has done such a wonderful job of running the economy that we should continue to cloak them with secrecy for the purpose of protecting them from second-guessing criticism," said Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat.
The Fed is pushing back, warning that its ability to stabilize prices and monitor interest rates would be compromised if it knew politicians were looking over its shoulder.
The House proposal would "cause the markets and the to public to lose confidence in the independence and the judgments of the Federal Reserve," Scott Alvarez, the board's top lawyer, told the House Financial Services Committee in testimony.
The legislation is championed by Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas Republican whose extreme libertarian bent usually doesn't generate consensus in Congress. But as of Friday, Paul's legislation had attracted 295 co-sponsors with a range of political philosophies, including Hawaii liberal Rep. Neil Abercrombie and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, an outspoken conservative from Texas.
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“So is the Fed, according to you.”
And I’d prefer that things are given oversight by the legislature instead of just one man.
“So is the Fed, according to you.”
“And I’d prefer that things are given oversight by the legislature instead of just one man.”
Which is the way it currently IS for the Fed.
Congress has oversight. The Fed is a creature of Congressional mandate.
“Which is the way it currently IS for the Fed.
Congress has oversight. The Fed is a creature of Congressional mandate.”
Yep, but the congress artificially limited the ways in which the Fed can be audited, and thankfully that seems likely to change.
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