FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 10, 2024
Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343
WTAS: Dr. Rand Paul Reintroduces “Audit the Fed”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) reintroduced the Federal Reserve Transparency Act or the “Audit the Fed” bill, to prevent the Federal Reserve from concealing vital information on its operations from Congress.
“No institution holds more power over the future of the American economy and the value of our savings than the Federal Reserve,” said Dr. Paul. “It’s long past time for Congress to stop shirking its duty and hold the Federal Reserve accountable.”
Dr. Paul’s legislation is supported by a wide variety of organizations and their leadership:
“Whenever the U.S. government demands secrecy, our reaction should be, ‘what are they hiding?’ For too long the Federal Reserve has operated in the shadows,” said Dr. Ron Paul, Chairman of the Ron Paul Institute. “We cannot live in liberty without government transparency. I strongly endorse Sen. Paul’s Federal Reserve Transparency Act. Audit the Fed!”
“TPA is excited to support Dr. Rand Paul’s Federal Reserve Transparency Act. This legislation will enhance transparency at America’s central bank and most prominent economic institution. This legislation will usher in heightened Congressional oversight abilities, including reviewing foreign transactions and assessing monetary policy decisions. The Fed’s role in the U.S. economic system is substantial and its powers, which impact taxpayers and consumers on a daily basis, cannot go unchecked,” said David Williams, President of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
“The Federal Reserve operations, motivations, and accountancy has been clouded in mystery for more than a century,” said Jeffrey Tucker, President of the Brownstone Institute. “The central bank in a free society should be transparent to the people. Dr. Paul’s Federal Reserve Transparency Act begins this, and it is the least we can demand.”
“After printing trillions of dollars, the groupthink at the Fed led them to spread absurd claims that inflation would be ‘transitory.’ Loose monetary policy has plagued our country for too long, engineering hardships for the American people that only got worse with each increase in interest rates to fight inflation. Sen. Paul’s legislation will provide much-needed oversight for this unaccountable entity,” said Adam Brandon, President of FreedomWorks.
“The Fed is one of the most powerful institutions in all of government, yet it hides behind a curtain of secrecy. It makes trillion-dollar decisions and acts as a fiefdom that is apparently accountable to no one. Talk about a threat to democracy. The power to spend and tax are constitutionally reserved for Congress but the Fed is purchasing trillions of dollars of assets and by printing money is imposing a hidden tax on the economy without congressional approval. Senator Rand Paul’s ‘Audit the Fed’ is a good first step in reining in Federal Reserve tyranny. The best disinfectant is sunshine,” said Stephen Moore, Senior Fellow in Economics at the Heritage Foundation.
“Dr. Paul’s “Federal Reserve Transparency Act” is extremely important because the government works best when it is accountable, its operations transparent, and checks and balances are in place. While the Fed ought not to be a politically motivated entity, it must be subject to oversight and its actions must not be hidden in the dark,” said George Landrith, President of Frontiers of Freedom Institute. “Dr. Paul’s “Federal Reserve Transparency Act” is an important step in achieving accountability and transparency and making sure that there are checks and balances in place. The Fed is in desperate need of this reform. The Fed’s mismanagement of our national economy couldn’t be more obvious given the national economic troubles that it has played a role in making and exacerbating. Dr. Paul’s bill couldn’t be more timely or more needed.”
“The Fed has an enormous impact on our economy, so it is important to have as much transparency and accountability as possible. NTU is pleased to support Senator Paul’s efforts to audit the Fed,” said Brandon Arnold, Executive Vice President of National Taxpayers Union.
“Every member of Congress should support Sen. Rand Paul’s legislation to audit the Federal Reserve. This is not just a rhetorical talking point, it is a fiscal and monetary responsibility of Congress to unveil how the Fed has been negating the impacts of higher interest rates on too big-to-fail banking balance sheets in the regional bank bailout, the Fed’s now $132 billion Bank Term Funding Program. This designed mitigation and socialization of interest rate risk for some banks while other smaller banks have been forced to close their doors under the Congressionally passed Dodd-Frank law, needs to be understood to ensure that political favor does not drive the picking of winners and losers, including whether these bailouts are going to too big to fail and foreign banks,” said Richard Manning, President of Americans for Limited Government.
The legislation is currently cosponsored by Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Braun (R-IN), Jim Risch (R-ID), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Rick Scott (R-FL).
BACKGROUND:
This legislation would require the nonpartisan, independent Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a thorough audit of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors and reserve banks within one year of the bill’s enactment and to report back to Congress within 90 days of completing the audit.
Audit the Fed would repeal current statutory restrictions that prevent a full audit of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks. If enacted into law, the bill would empower the GAO to fully audit:
- Transactions for or with a foreign central bank, government of a foreign country, or nonprivate international financing organization;
- 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;
- Transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee;
- Discussions or communications among or between members of the Federal Reserve Board and officers and employees of the Federal Reserve System related to the actions listed above.
Americans deserve to be made aware of the practices of the Federal Reserve, whose decisions can result in high levels of inflation and slow economic growth. It is time the Federal Reserve operates in a manner that is transparent and accountable to the taxpayers.
Full text of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act can be found HERE.
###