From the Staff at AFP
With H.R. 459—the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2012—having passed the House July 25 with an impressive 327-98 tally, it’s time to pull out all the stops and contact your senators to support S. 202—the Senate version for auditing the Federal Reserve.
Sponsored by Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), S. 202 needs strong, persistent public backing immediately especially since the House version says the proposed first-ever full audit of the Federal Reserve must be carried out “by the comptroller general of the United States before the end of 2012.” That does not leave much time.
Introduced on January 26, 2011, at the start of the 112th Congress, S. 202 has 27 cosponsors. The bill, which has languished long enough in the Senate Banking Committee (202-224-7391), could easily remain marooned there.
“We don’t have a lot on the legislative calendar left for this year,” a committee staffer told AMERICAN FREE PRESS July 31, adding that there was nothing yet placed on the committee’s agenda regarding S. 202. He understands that if H.R. 459’s passage is not followed soon by committee passage, full Senate passage and a presidential signing, then the whole audit project would have to be reintroduced next year in the 113th Congress.
A staffer of Senator Paul’s confirmed that prompt Senate action on S. 202 was not looking particularly likely. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)—the main guy who could dislodge S. 202 from committee—“had no interest” in a Fed audit right after the House’s vote, he said, adding about Senator Paul: “I don’t know what he can do to expedite it [the bill] from committee.”
However, since the Senate Banking Committee is chaired by a Democrat, Sen. Tim Johnson (S.D.), Reid could persuade Johnson to move S. 202 forward, if so inclined.
Keep in mind, too, that ending the Fed is far better. A bill which deserves careful consideration, H.R. 2990, sponsored by Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), would nationalize the Fed and introduce U.S. sovereign currency, debt-free, to replace the interest-bearing notes peddled by the privately owned Federal Reserve System.
Readers should call Johnson (202-224-5842; fax 202-228-5765) as well as Reid (202-224-3542; fax 202-224-7327), along with any other senators, to get S. 202 moving—so the central bankers and their toadies in Congress don’t kill this audit legislation by bottling it up during a busy election year. The switchboard numbers to contact any House or Senate member are 202-224-3121 or 225-3121.
