In a 96-0 vote, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously supported an audit of the Federal Reserve, over major objections of its Chairman, Ben Benanke, who believes that the FED’s dealings ought to be kept secret and not be subject to public scrutiny. The so-called Sanders amendment, sponsored by Senator Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) allows for a one time audit of the Federal Reserve, and public disclosure of most transactions undertaken between 2007 and 2010.
In hailing the vote, Congressman Alan Grayson (D-Orlando) said that the Sanders amendment was a significant step in the direction for a full audit of the Federal Reserve, but noted that the central bank needs to be audited on a regular basis going forward, particularly because it has the power to hand out billions of dollars on a whim.
“I expect that when we finally see what the Federal Reserve has been up to, the public will be outraged,” Grayson said. “Releasing this information will show that the Federal Reserve’s arguments for secrecy are — and have always been — a ruse. The ploy covers up the handing out of hundreds of billions of dollars like party favors to the Wall Street institutions that brought the American economy to the brink of national bankruptcy.”
Last week, Congressman Grayson made a speech on the floor of the House, exposing the fact that the American taxpayers own the Red Roof Inn discount hotel chain, because of a questionable deal conducted by the Federal Reserve. (See video Clip below).
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve announced that it will once again begin “foreign currency swaps” with foreign central banks. At the height of the crisis, the Fed lent more than $600 billion to foreign central banks. Congressman Grayson asked Fed Chair Ben Bernanke where this money went, and Bernanke said, “I don’t know.”
The Sanders Amendment is only a partial victory. The most important improvement over what the Sanders Amendment offers would be to subject the Fed to audit for what it does going forward. The Grayson-Paul amendment, which passed in the House, permits those audits. Today, a similar amendment failed in the Senate, on a vote of 37-62.
“The Fed is an institution that has the power to hand out hundreds of billions of dollars on a whim. Because of that power, the Fed must always be subject to independent audits — completely, and without reservation. We must AUDIT THE FED,” Congressman Grayson said.
