Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Republican, reintroduced his “Audit the Fed” legislation on Wednesday, with 56 cosponsors.
Paul’s office staff told The Daily Caller that though a “watered-down” version of his “Audit the Fed” legislation made it into last summer’s financial reform package from Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat, and former Sen. Chris Dodd, Connecticut Democrat, he wants the real deal, not just elements of it. So, he rolled out H.R. 459, “The Audit the Fed Bill,” this week.
In the 111th Congress, Paul won broad bipartisan support for his proposal to audit the Federal Reserve, with 320 cosponsors, before the bill folded in the Dodd-Frank financial reform package. Paul pointed out in a press release that the Federal Reserve hired a full-time lobbyist for the first time in history during the 111th Congress because of unprecedented public pressure.
“I was very pleased that so many of my colleagues were willing to stand up for transparency and accountability in government by cosponsoring HR 1207 in the last Congress,” Paul said. “I am optimistic about our prospects for a full and complete audit in the 112th Congress.”