Brady Dennis and Perry Bacon, Jr.
Washington Post
May 5, 2010
A contentious effort to expand audits of the Federal Reserve that sailed through the House despite heavy criticism appears to be picking up steam as the Senate considers broad new financial regulations.
Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) is pushing an amendment to the financial overhaul bill before the Senate that would broaden the Government Accountability Office’s power to audit the Fed and compel the central bank to disclose details about the firms that received emergency federal aid during the financial crisis.
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“The American people have a right to know who has received $2 trillion of their money, and they have a right to have the GAO do an audit about potential conflicts of interest,” Sanders said Tuesday. The Fed has “operated in secrecy forever, and they are now playing a role significantly different than they have in the past. I think the American people want to know what is going on,” he added.
Sanders’s measure reflects legislation introduced by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) — who has harshly criticized the Fed for decades — and approved overwhelmingly by the House last year.
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