Barney Frank Surrenders to the Paulians
Ron Paul’s star continues to rise like a bad moon: Frank Said to Back Broader Fed Audits.
Rep. Ron Paul said he has a commitment from the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, to advance the Texas Republican’s legislation opening the Federal Reserve to broader federal audits.
In an interview Friday, Mr. Paul said Mr. Frank agreed to allow a vote on the bill and to work on language that would allow the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to audit the Fed’s monetary-policy operations. While details are unresolved, the discussions increase the likelihood that some version of Mr. Paul’s bill will pass the House.
“Barney told me, ‘It’s going to come. You’re going to get what you want,’ ” Mr. Paul said. “We’re going to have some hearings and we’ll get a vote.”
UPDATE at 8/31/09 11:00:53 am:
If you think auditing the Fed might not be a bad idea, I suggest you read this: Auditing the Fed Is Economic Suicide.
And please note that Ron Paul has been completely open about the fact that he sees this proposal as just the first step in a wider plan to abolish the Federal Reserve entirely and return to the gold standard. The whole purpose of the legislation is to go on a fishing expedition, and come up with something they can portray as a reason to push their more extreme plans.
Frank says: