WSJ: Senators Plan to Use Bernanke Nomination Debate to Push Audit Measure
With two-thirds of the House cosponsoring Dr. Paul’s H.R. 1207, my Senate colleagues have a great opportunity here to gain some traction for the movement to audit the Fed.
The Senate Banking Committee is poised to clear Mr. Bernanke’s nomination on Thursday, sending it to the full Senate for a vote. Several lawmakers plan to use the proceedings to gain momentum for a bill that aims to subject the Fed’s monetary-policy making to congressional audits.
The measure, crafted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), mirrors one written by Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas) that was included in the House’s overhaul of financial-industry regulations passed last week.
“It would surprise me if very many people would be willing, in public, to vote against the audit,” Mr. DeMint said. “Americans don’t trust the Federal Reserve,” he said. It has expanded its “mission well beyond anything that was ever discussed.”
But the audit legislation has drawn backers from across the political spectrum, including Mr. Sanders — among the most liberal lawmakers in Washington — and conservatives such as Messrs. Paul and DeMint.
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