U.S. Representative Massie Reintroduces Bill to Audit the Federal Reserve
Today, Congressman Thomas Massie reintroduced H.R. 24, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2017, also known as “Audit the Fed.” The bipartisan bill would require the Comptroller General to conduct a full examination of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve banks.
"The American public deserves more insight into the practices of the Federal Reserve,” Massie said. “Behind closed doors, the Fed crafts monetary policy that will continue to devalue our currency, slow economic growth, and make life harder for the poor and middle class.”
“No institution holds more power over the future of the American economy and the value of our savings than the Federal Reserve, yet Fed Chair Yellen refuses to be fully accountable to the people’s representatives," said Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who introduced companion legislation, S. 16, in the U.S. Senate. "The U.S. House has responded to the American people by passing Audit the Fed multiple times, and President-elect Trump has stated his support for an audit. Let’s send him the bill this Congress.”
Former Representative Ron Paul (R-TX), who has long championed this cause, originally introduced the bill in 2009.
Massie concluded, “It is time to force the Federal Reserve to operate by the same standards of transparency and accountability to the taxpayers that we should demand of all government agencies."
The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2017 was introduced with 44 bipartisan original cosponsors. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), passed an identical version of the bill, which had 201 cosponsors, in May 2016, marking an important step toward getting the bill to the House floor for a vote.
