Sen. Bernie Sanders Explains His Fed Audit Amendment Just Passed by Senate
As Chris Hayes noted, it's rare you find this kind of bipartisanship in Washington D.C. these days, but we got it with the 96-0 vote to pass Sen. Bernie Sanders amendment to audit the Federal Reserve.
Senate Passes Amendment for One-Time Audit of Fed:
The Senate adopted an amendment Tuesday to the financial-overhaul bill that would boost transparency of the Federal Reserve's emergency lending actions during the financial crisis. Lawmakers voted 96-0 to incorporate the modified amendment offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), who scaled back his original language last week to overcome White House objections.
"This amendment begins the process of lifting the veil of secrecy of perhaps the most powerful federal agency," Mr. Sanders said at a news conference after the vote. Once the audit is completed, Mr. Sanders said he hopes it will unveil so many "back-room deals" that people will push for even more disclosure.
Sen. Sanders explained what's in his amendment to Chris Hayes who was filling in for Rachel Maddow. I know a lot of people would have liked to this audit to go further but considering the political environment we're living in, I'm surprised he managed to get this passed. Sanders gave credit to a strong grass roots movement from both sides of the aisle coming together and pushing our politicians for its success. This is one instance I must say where I'm glad to see that happen. I want to see the Fed audited.
Here's more from Sen. Sanders press release.
Release: Senate Approves Fed Audit Sanders Amendment to End Fed Secrecy Passes
May 11, 2010
WASHINGTON, May 11 – In a major victory for transparency at the Federal Reserve, the Senate today passed an amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders to audit the Fed and make the central bank reveal which banks received more than $2 trillion in emergency aid during the financial crisis
“The Fed can no longer operate in virtual secrecy,” said Sanders (I-Vt.).
Under his amendment, the Government Accountability Office would conduct a top-to-bottom audit of all emergency actions by the Fed since the start of the financial crisis in 2007. The non-partisan research arm of Congress specifically would be directed to investigate apparent conflicts of interest involving the Fed and CEOs of the largest financial institutions in the country.
In addition to the audit, the Fed for the first time would have to reveal by Dec. 1, 2010, the identities of banks and other financial institutions that took more than $2 trillion in nearly zero-interest loans.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke repeatedly refused to tell Sanders and others the names of the banks which took the loans.
“Let's be clear,” Sanders said. “When trillions of dollars of taxpayer money are being lent out to the largest financial institutions in this country, the American people have a right to know who received that money and what they did with it. We also need to know what possible conflicts of interest exist involving the heads of large financial institutions who sat in the room helping to make those decisions.”
The amendment, approved by a vote of 96 to 0, was a combined effort by conservative and progressive senators and a wide spectrum of grass roots organizations.
The Fed is fighting federal court judgments ordering the central bank to divulge the information that was sought in Freedom of Information Act lawsuits by Bloomberg News and other news organizations.
The information that the Fed has withheld is separate from the $700 billion in Wall Street bailouts approved by Congress under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Recipients of those funds were posted on the Treasury Department Web site.
I'm willing to bet the results of this audit are so scary they will decide that most of it is a matter of "national security". There will be just enough stink to make a couple of heads roll and the rest will be covered up.
ever worked for a balied out bank or accounting firm with one of the banks as clients, this audit will be slicker than an oil spill estimate and about as believable. And they must be prevented from working for them in the future!
"Folks, this is not your father's Republican Party."
Joe Biden
Someone in the Government that never worked for a bailed out bank, directly or indirectly?
There is an interesting thought.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
http://www.desertedhotel.com/system/files/ima...
Hasa Diga Eebowai
Such a limited audit is only a start.
We should have complete transparency with our nations money, the system it runs under and every single penny should be accounted and reported.
The government has the IRS looking at every penny of my income, the bank is looking at every penny spent. The government is of the people so it has to come clean too.
Gotta love Senator Sanders (for many things) and I really love that the internet has made it possible to support politicians (and some challengers) not in my home state.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
This *could* be just the beginning.
Gotta keep pushing.
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
I agree. Sometimes these things take on a life of their own once out in the open.
The corporate MSM will have to come up wirh lots of distrations to deflect the ugly truth here.
If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.
Ron Paul is one of the most conservative members of the house? Does anyone agree with that statement?
Never seen this guy before.
...on the situation.
(Unhappy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GmCjUB00uM&fe...
...I never saw that guy either. ...he's kinda a male version of Rachael sort of?
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
Amazing huh? He's mimicking her speech, mannerisms, and snarkyness as if receiving direction from the producer. Even Racheal was more low key before she got her own show on MSNBC. Damn producers.
...better looking but,
very similar otherwise!
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
Too bad people aren't allowed to be themselves on TV anymore. Remember how interesting, and boring, game show contestants used to be? Not anymore. All consistently plastic and coached.
I'm sure the "application process" for being on a game show or reality show, ensures that all potential contestants are "moldable" and "coachable"
Jeopardy was the only game show I ever really watched with interest.
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
we will see this audit and how real it ends up being, mean while, good politics.
I suspect that you will be proven right ckerst . In spite of Bernie's efforts it will likely end up being a joke and for appearances only . Bernie Sanders is a good man , if only there were more like him .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
its paper is printed on.
"Folks, this is not your father's Republican Party."
Joe Biden
The auditors are demanding payment in advance in gold bullion.
Not a good sign.
what makes CPA's any more special than MD's.
"Folks, this is not your father's Republican Party."
Joe Biden
...and what about the incongruity of a unanimous vote in favor of bill proposed by the only member of congress actually calling himself a "socialist"?....Hmmmm
That is kinda strange. The most ardent supporters of the bill were a socialist and a libertarian. I guess that means don't expect a Democrat or a Republican to challenge a capitalist institution.
Winner!
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
Don't think it was mentioned but Ron Paul's audit the fed bill did not pass. The white house lobbied hard against both bills.
Ron Paul, "one of the most conservative members of congress", was disappointed at the compromise but said the bill was better than nothing.
BREAKING: The audit of the FED is complete! The results will be released in December, 2018.
Bingo, we have a winner!
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
Perhaps more likely, the results will constitute a "national security issue" and won't be released for fifty years.
I had national security on there as the reason, but deleted it. decided to keep it brief. Thanks though. We were thinking alike.
I just can't believe that there's any teeth behind this audit; otherwise, the Fed's paid lackeys would have voted against it.
You know what? The more I think about it, the more suspicious a unanimous vote seems. Its as if they (white house? bankers? difference?) sent a message to all the senators that voted and said
"Look, we know there's some funky stuff going on at the FED, but its too complicated for the public to understand, so lets have a unanimous vote on this watered-down bill to show the appearance of us being interested."
Unanimous agreement is never a good thing for America.
Going through the motions? November is right around the corner.
If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.
The more conservadem and neocon agreement we have, the more fucked the nation is in the short and long term.
I've been hoping for this for years.
The valid grassroots concerns of the far right are precisely those of the progressive left.
We are ALL populists - our government should answer to the people, not the corporations.
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
Nah. The reason the vote was unanimous is because all the senators that had deep pockets lobby money from the banking industry were assured nothing would happen to their banker constituents.
.. and your proof is ???
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
More of an opinion than a statement of fact. Sorry I worded it as such. But the unanimous vote is suspicious, and resistance to the bill came from the white house, wall street and the FED themselves. Do you think there's any chance prior contributions and appointments did not play a role in the streamlined version of this bill?
"We are ALL populists"
Well, in all honesty I haven't popped in years
:)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
I wonder if Audit is really the correct word.
It seems like this is just going to be the info on who got what:
"make the central bank reveal which banks received more than $2 trillion in emergency aid during the financial crisis"
I've heard numbers many times the $2 trillion mentioned. I think Thom Hartman said something like $9 trillion is missing or unaccounted for.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
As long as it didn't go to the american people, what's the diff? It's only money!
If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.
I'll take mine and go home.
"Folks, this is not your father's Republican Party."
Joe Biden
what is this? no dissenting gopers are blue dog conservatives? hell is going to freeze over!
Texas ain't...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I forget, is this glasnost or perestroika?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
According to WikiAnswers, 'The Federal Reserve is an independent entity within the U.S. Government. It was established under The Federal Reserve Act of 1913.'
Then according to this, http://www.save-a-patriot.org/files/view/frco...,
'the court ruled that the Federal Reserve Banks are "independent, privately owned and locally controlled corporations", and there is not sufficient "federal government control over 'detailed physical performance' and 'day to day operation'" of the Federal Reserve Bank for it to be considered a federal agency'
Why are a privately owned banks and corporations being allowed to mess with Our money? If the Government doesn't want to abolish The Fed, then maybe it's time to make them a full blown Government agency? Subject to any and all laws, oversights and regulations?
-Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence:
"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men."
I am glad they are being audited, but what good is a one-time audit? Can't you just see the The Fed scrambling to cook the books, running to the paper shredders and stuffing all the skeletons in their closets locking them down air-tight? This to me makes about as much sense as Congress investigating BP over the oil spill. The very people who line Congress' pockets.
Government + the Federal Reserve = organized crime
I hear Joan Crawford before she was discovered did dog and pony shows in Tiajuana.
Is Perestroika Paris Hilton's Russian pen-pal?
Parish is her goody-goody sister...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
they don't have too; it's been done all along.
Had "books" as well.
What we need is a US Central Bank - of, by and for the people.
Best first step is creating State Central Banks modelled on Bank of North Dakota.
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
with auditing the fed, BUT, I think many people dont truly understand the degree of corruption that will be found post-audit.
In other words: Be careful what you wish for. You may not like what you find.
After watching the repukes destroy my country and it's people, I think we can handle an audit!
If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.
Real, honest people want this. The media will crap their guts out, but they've been fairweather friends of the truth and reality for quite some time.
years ago i read a book by one of the leading Libertarian lights, Murray Rothbard, called "For a New Liberty", which had a chapter about fractional reserve banking, which is what the Fed does. although the book as a whole was libertarian garbage, the part on fractional reserve was great, where basically they lend money they don't have, people need to wise up about our banking system, it is total BS.
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