House Vote on Audit the Fed Bill Planned for July 24

[mother earth]

House to vote on Fed audit bill
Last Updated: 11:53 PM, July 20, 2012

Posted: 11:53 PM, July 20, 2012

The House of Representatives is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill that would allow for a congressional audit of Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions, a senior House aide said yesterday.

The legislation proposed by Republican Representative Ron Paul, a long-time critic of the central bank and author of the book “End the Fed,” has already gathered 274 co-sponsors, virtually guaranteeing passage.

The Republican-led House will consider the bill under a fast-track procedure that requires a two-thirds majority, but nearly two-thirds of the House has already signed onto the bill.

Paul’s son, Republican Senator Rand Paul, has introduced a companion bill in the Democrat-controlled Senate, but chances of success there are remote, given a less critical view of the central bank in that chamber and a tight legislative calendar before congressional elections in November.

The Fed successfully stopped Ron Paul’s measure during congressional debate over financial regulatory reforms in 2010.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told House lawmakers on Wednesday that the legislation would open the door to a “nightmare scenario” of political meddling in monetary policy.

“That is very concerning because there’s a lot of evidence that an independent central bank that makes decisions based strictly on economic considerations and not based on political pressure will deliver lower inflation and better economic results in the longer term,” Bernanke said.

Paul’s bill would direct the Government Accountability Office, an independent, nonpartisan congressional agency, to conduct a Fed review and would remove an exemption that monetary policy has enjoyed.

The central bank’s political standing has suffered since the financial crisis struck in 2007.

Critics claim Fed policies benefited Wall Street more than Main Street, and many Republicans charge that the central bank is courting inflation with its efforts to lift the economy.

The Fed cut overnight interest rates to near zero in December 2008 and has held them there since. Despite the Fed’s aggressive and unconventional monetary policy, the economic recovery is only limping along.



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/house_to_vote_on_fed_audit_bill_v4K9PCnwAEe9hQelpSiQIL#ixzz21TGWJuJt

[mother earth]

1. The vote was delayed to today, Wedns.

"A bipartisan bill requiring broader operational audits of the U.S. Federal Reserve is poised to pass the House Wednesday.

The measure would permit government auditors to conduct deeper audits of the Fed’s monetary policy operations. Despite opposition from some Democrats and the Federal Reserve, the bill has at least 274 cosponsors, including more than three dozen Democrats facing difficult reelection campaigns.

The bill will be considered under the suspension of normal House rules, meaning it will require at least a two-thirds majority to pass. Aides to top Republican and Democratic leaders said they expect the vote to pass by a close margin."

Snippet from:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/audit-the-fed-bill-set-for-house-vote/2012/07/24/gJQAJypU7W_blog.html