Senate rejects Rand Paul's 'Audit the Fed' legislation

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Senate rejects Rand Paul's 'Audit the Fed' legislation

By ANDREW TAYLOR
Jan. 12, 2016 3:52 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Tuesday blocked legislation calling for tougher audits of the Federal Reserve, rebuffing an attempt by Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul to give lawmakers greater oversight of the central bank's moves on interest rates.

The 53-44 vote fell short of the threshold to overcome a Democratic filibuster. But the Kentucky Republican, who is seeking the GOP's nomination for president, was joined by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president who occupies the opposite end of the political spectrum from Paul.

The measure calls for the Government Accountability Office, a watchdog agency for Congress, to scrutinize the Fed's monetary policy and offer recommendations to lawmakers on ways to address any perceived problems.

Congress, the White House and Treasury officials have traditionally been careful to steer clear of questioning the Fed's independence to set policy, and current law blocks the GAO from reviewing the way the agency conducts monetary policy or reviewing internal deliberations.

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Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/efec5b29b4ca4619bf6eb7316b3f0624/senate-rejects-rand-pauls-audit-fed-legislation

[saltpoint]

1. Poor Rand. First he was booted from

the GOP main stage. And now this.

He may have to consult the Aqua Buddha for counsel and insight.

[philosslayer]

3. And poor Bernie, who co-sponsored it

That Berns.

[saltpoint]

4. My take on Rand is that he is

more odd and quirky than his GOP prez rivals. And that's reasonable currency for some voters.

But there are not enough of those kinds of voters to comprise a base of national support. I wouldn't say his campaign was doomed from the start, but very shortly into the summer it was clear Rand would have no traction. He didn't seem to have much money. He didn't seem to have that much to say. And like most of the other Puke candidates, he was blown out of the water by Trump.

Fascist beats Odd & Quirky every time.

[philosslayer]

2. Good

Rand Paul is a libertarian flake, and I'm surprised Senator Sanders is getting mixed up with him.

[Warpy]

5. I'm not, not on this issue.

The Fed needs to be audited and has needed it for many decades. Rand Paul would try to use it to destroy the Fed. Sanders would use it to clean them up. Paul is doing the right thing for the wrong reason. It's still the right thing.