Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has informed Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that he will put a hold on the nomination of Janet Yellen to be the next Federal Reserve chair unless his bill to audit the Fed sees daylight.
“As the Senate debates the nomination of the next head of the Federal Reserve, there is no more appropriate time to provide Congress with additional oversight and scrutiny of the actions and decisions of the central bank,” Paul wrote to Reid. “Therefore, I request that my bipartisan legislation, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, be scheduled for an up or down vote concurrently with the Yellen nomination.”
Similar legislation passed in the House 327-98 in July 2012, Paul noted.
One of Paul’s first actions as a senator was to pick up his father’s longtime goal to audit the Fed.
His bill lifts restrictions on the GAO to complete, within 12 months of enactment, the required audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the Federal Reserve Banks and submit to Congress, within 90 days of audit completion, a detailed report of audit findings and conclusions.
“Accordingly, I will object to any unanimous consent agreement or the waiver of any rule with respect to the nomination of Dr. Yellen without a vote on S. 209,” Paul wrote. “I know you have been a supporter of similar legislation in the past, and I hope that we can work together to pass this important legislation.”
In announcing his intentions last night, Paul said “the American people have a right to know what this institution is doing with the nation’s money supply.”
“The Federal Reserve does not need prolonged secrecy—it needs to be audited, and my bipartisan Federal Reserve Transparency Act will do just that,” Paul added.
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