According to Bloomberg News, the House Financial Services Committee today, in a 43-26 vote and a second voice vote, attached a Fed-audit amendment to legislation creating a council of regulators to monitor systemic risk.
According to Dr. Paul, the bill, HR 3996, if passed, will grant sweeping new powers to the Federal Reserve. However, at least with his amendment attached, it won’t be acting in secret anymore.
The panel’s vote increases the possibility that Congress will reverse the ban on audits of interest-rate decisions. The broader bill on financial regulation is subject to a vote by the committee, then must be approved by the House and Senate and signed into law by President Obama.
The effort to audit the Federal Reserve was spearheaded by the Campaign for Liberty, but many RLC members have participated in letter writing campaigns and in-person protests in support of the bill (HR 1207). In September, the California GOP adopted a resolution by RLC members to support HR 1207.
The bill has over 300 co-sponsors in the House and over 30 co-sponsors in the Senate.




