The U.S. House Financial Services Committee added a provision to a financial system reform bill late Thursday night that could potentially give Congress the right to order the Government Accountability Office to audit all of the Federal Reserve's activities.
The provision, which was proposed by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, would give the Government Accountability Office the right to audit the Fed's monetary policy decisions. The GAO has had the right to audit other operations by the central bank, but the Fed's monetary policy has been independent from GAO reviews.
"If we get the audit and get the books open, make them answer the questions, I am convinced that the American people will be so outraged that then we will have reform of the monetary system," Paul has said.
The provision removes restrictions on GAO audits of the Fed, allowing Congress to order audits of every Fed operation, though it makes clear that it is not to be misconstrued as an attempt to allow Congress or the GAO to dictate monetary policy.
Paul has always been one of the harshest critics of the central bank. He has blamed it for last year's financial crisis and has even called for its dissolution, most notably in a book he published in September, titled "End the Fed."
Of course, Paul's provision, which was added to the bill after a 43-26 vote (about half of the Democrats present and all of the Republicans voted in favor), is expected to meet opposition from Fed supporters and Fed officials themselves as the reform bill moves through the full House and Senate.
Fed chief Ben Bernanke has commented on Paul's amendment in the past, saying that it would allow Congress to take over policy decisions and harm financial stability.
House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., is also opposed to the provision, saying that it would damage the Fed's credibility. Frank has postponed a vote on the overall bill until after Thanksgiving.
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