Posts in "H.R. 1207"

By Bonnie Kristian at 12:37PM

Jan 28, 2010

C4L's John Tate in the Daily Caller: Audit the Fed, Bernanke confirmation can wait

When Ron Paul reintroduced his bill in February 2009 to audit the Federal Reserve, conventional wisdom predicted that the legislation would once again fail to gain any traction.

But conventional wisdom also failed to predict the economic crisis.

In less than a year since its introduction, H.R. 1207, which Campaign for Liberty refers to as simply the “Audit the Fed Bill,” has gained over 300 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, and its companion bill, S. 604, has received the support of more than one-third of the Senate. A slightly modified version of H.R. 1207 even passed the House as an amendment to Barney Frank’s financial regulatory reform bill.

Read the rest of Tate's piece here.

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By Bonnie Kristian at 1:13PM

Jan 20, 2010

Bernanke Calls for an Audit of the Fed

Whaaaaaaat?

It's true: Ben Bernanke has called for a GAO audit of the Federal Reserve. His motives are less exciting, however; the request comes right before he's scheduled to be confirmed by the Senate and in light of recent accusations of deception by the Fed about its relations with AIG.

Though this is simply political posturing, it's certainly an interesting development in Ron Paul's fight to audit (and end!) the Fed.

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By Bonnie Kristian at 5:46PM

Dec 9, 2009

Ron Paul News Update!

From the doctor himself: "Who wants war?" (The rest of this update is all about H.R. 1207, so I figured a little foreign policy might be nice to start with.)
The Hill reports: "High-stakes duel between Rep. Paul and Bernanke intensifies."
"Ron Paul’s Fed-Bashing Wins Over Lawmakers Wary of Bank’s Power," says Bloomberg.
"A lonely voice against the Fed now leads a chorus," admits the WaPo.
Newser summarizes: "Ron Paul Poised to Finally Pass Fed Audits."
MoneyNews.com quotes the congressman: "Paul: I Just Want to Know What Fed Is Doing."
"Will Ron Paul Vote Against His Own Bill to Audit the Federal Reserve?" asks American Banking News.

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By Bonnie Kristian at 6:59PM

Nov 19, 2009

Paul-Grayson Amendment Wins!

H.R. 1207 will be changed back to the way it should be! Check out these news reports:

LewRockwell.com: Paul-Grayson Amendment Wins!
American Banking News: Congressmen Ron Paul and Alan Grayson Announce Amendment Based on HR 1207 Passes in Financial Services Committee
Ballot Access News: Ron Paul-Alan Grayson Bill to Audit the Federal Reserve Makes Headway
Liberty Maven: Ron Paul introduces substitute for the HR.1207 “gutting” Watt Amendment

Here's Ron Paul's introduction to the amendment:

Go Ron Paul!

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By Robert Bentley at 11:38AM

Nov 19, 2009

Critical Vote on Audit the Fed Today!

From the Campaign for Liberty:

A few weeks ago, we sent out an alert that Representative Mel Watt was attempting to water down H.R. 1207 in the House Financial Services Committee.

The latest reports we have received have informed us that a vote on the Watt amendment could come tomorrow!

There's still time for us to stop this attack on Audit the Fed! Click here to get a full list of Financial Services Committee members, along with their contact information.

Financial Services leadership seems determined to include Audit the Fed as part of a regulatory reform package instead of passing it as a standalone bill.

While C4L will still do everything in its power to fight for a standalone vote on Audit the Fed on the House floor, it is critical we challenge Watt's amendment in Committee.

Audit the Fed Bill "Gutted"

I guess we kind of knew it was coming, but this is still disappointing:

Representative Ron Paul, the Texas Republican who has called for an end to the Federal Reserve, said legislation he introduced to audit monetary policy has been “gutted” while moving toward a possible vote in the Democratic-controlled House.
The bill, with 308 co-sponsors, has been stripped of provisions that would remove Fed exemptions from audits of transactions with foreign central banks, monetary policy deliberations, transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee and communications between the Board, the reserve banks and staff, Paul said today.

“There’s nothing left, it’s been gutted,” he said in a telephone interview. “This is not a partisan issue. People all over the country want to know what the Fed is up to, and this legislation was supposed to help them do that.

Read the rest here. Excuse the language, but damn, I hate the state.

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By Nick Leavens at 2:36PM

Oct 19, 2009

The Fed should be more transparent

Check out this article written by my favorite Doctor, Rep. Ron Paul. Paul argues for more transparency from the Fed, and gives reasons why HR 1207 is an important piece of legislation.

The Fed

For nearly 100 years the Federal Reserve has operated largely in the shadows. The Fed’s monetary policy operations, including open-market operations and agreements with foreign governments and central banks, are exempt from audit by the Government Accountability Office.

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By Nick Leavens at 6:34AM

Oct 15, 2009

Can I have your attention, please?

Please take 2 minutes of your day and spend it this way:

1. Check out this website for directions.

2. Ask your Representative to support H.R. 1207 and your Senators to support S. 604. If they already cosponsored it, thank them for their continued support.

3. Ask that they call for that bill to be brought up in this session and request a Roll Call vote of this bill by itself. 75% of Americans favor auditing the Federal Reserve. Over 300 Representatives are signed on as co-sponsors in the House and over 30 Senators have signed on as well! (That's what you call true bi-partisan support!)

Trust me, it's super easy, takes 2 minutes, and you'll simply talk to a friendly staffers at your representatives' offices -- so you don't need to feel nervous about talking to someone important. Besides, you're paying for them to sit there and answer the phone anyway!

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By George Edwards at 6:55AM

Sep 29, 2009

Bruce Bartlett erects a Straw Man

Bartlett conflates "undermining the independence of the Fed" with Auditing the Fed. Though the goal of SOME of the sponsors of Ron Paul's bill HR 1207 is to coalesce the power of the Fed with authority possesed by Congress, it certainly is not Ron Paul's goal. Bartlett references Tom Woods testimony to Congress. The blatant disregard for the words that come out of Tom Woods' mouth brings a reasonable human being to believe Bartlett is engaged in some sort of doublethink.

When confronting the issue of Fed independence Tom Woods said:

For example some suggest it would remove the Fed’s independence and subject monetary policy to politics. Nonsense. There is nothing in the bill that seeks to control Fed actions. An audit will only expose their actions to sunlight.

Draw your own conclusions about why Bartlett would misrepresent the bill. Thanks to Lewrockwell.com.

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