House Committee Advances Massie’s Fed Transparency Bill
- Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (OGR), chaired by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), passed Congressman Massie’s H.R. 24, “The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015,” also known as “Audit the Fed.” This is an important step toward getting the bill to the House floor for a vote.
“The Federal Reserve should not keep secrets from Congress,” said OGR member Congressman Massie, who introduced the bill on January 6th, 2015. "Ironically, the people who argue against an audit make the case for an audit by saying that transparency may affect the way the Fed operates. Congress created the Federal Reserve, so it is Congress’ responsibility to audit the Federal Reserve. Americans want and deserve more transparency."
The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 would require the Comptroller General to conduct a full examination of the Federal Reserve System and how it sets monetary policy. The Federal Reserve makes decisions that affect the economy, yet the elected officials who represent the American people have limited insight into how the institution’s decisions are made.
The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 currently has 198 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. Former Congressman Paul Broun (R-GA) introduced a similar bill in the 113th Congress that overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives, 333-92. Former Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), who has long championed this cause, originally introduced the bill in 2009.
On January 12, 2016, the Senate voted 53-44 in favor of Senator Rand Paul’s S. 2232, the Senate companion to H.R. 24, only seven votes short of the 60 needed to move the bill forward.
Now that the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 has successfully made it through committee, the full House can schedule debate and vote on the bill.
To watch Congressman Massie's remarks during the committee markup, click here.
