Elizabeth Warren Doesn't Support Rand Paul's Audit the Fed Bill

[bigtree]

from the WSJ:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), a member of the Banking Committee and an outspoken critic of the Fed’s oversight of big banks, said she does not support Mr. Paul’s proposed legislation, which she said could have “dangerous” implications for monetary policy.

“I strongly support and continue to press for greater congressional oversight of the Fed’s regulatory and supervisory responsibilities, and I believe the Fed’s balance sheet should be regularly audited – which the law already requires,” Ms. Warren said in an emailed statement. “But I oppose the current version of this bill because it promotes congressional meddling in the Fed’s monetary policy decisions, which risks politicizing those decisions and may have dangerous implications for financial stability and the health of the global economy.”

read: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/02/10/sen-warren-opposes-audit-the-fed-bill/

related:

Sen. Sanders Remains a Backer of the 'Audit the Fed' Bill (UPDATE: Effort Fails)
http://reason.com/blog/2016/01/12/sen-sanders-remains-a-backer-in-auditing

[elleng]

1. Thanks, bigtree.

Good to see her explanation.

[bigtree]

3. let's see if folks here are interested in more than defending Bernie

...wouldn't be the first right-wing pursuit defended here for the sake of defending Sen. Sanders.

[mmonk]

5. I will. Bailing out foreign banks should

be subject to Congressional oversight not after the fact.

[kath]

9. as if dozens of HRC's right-wing pursuits aren't defended here by her supporters.

Sheesh.



(Not that auditing the Fed is a "right wing pursuit", IMO)

[seaglass]

10. Such a conflict. Having to admit either Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders is wrong. This thread

is destined to die a quick death.

[bigtree]

11. lol

...that sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach when folks realize they'll need to swallow a Rand Paul tea party initiative along with a defense of Bernie.

[Skwmom]

14. This goes beyond politics or party. n/t

Last edited Wed Jan 13, 2016, 05:35 PM - Edit history (1)

[bigtree]

17. no it doesn't

...the Paul bill Sanders voted for is a sham.

[Skwmom]

18. The sham is bailing out the fraudsters who spent not 1 day in jail and got bonuses. n/t

[MineralMan]

2. The Fed is already audited.

Rand Paul's bill was just a show gesture. It failed, as it should have.

[Skwmom]

12. They are audited by Deloitte & Touche. The GAO is the one who would be doing the audit.

First of all, the GAO could do a different TYPE of audit than D&T.

Secondly, public accounting firms are as untrustworthy as our government. If people only knew.....

Impressed with Warren? No. She's reminding me more and more of Obama in 2008.

[mmonk]

4. I disagree in one sense. A President needs to

know.

[bigtree]

7. there are already meaningful audits of the Fed

...this bill isn't about that, as Elizabeth Warren correctly states.


The Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducts numerous reviews of Federal Reserve activities.

The Board's financial statements, and its compliance with laws and regulations affecting those statements, are audited annually by an outside auditor retained by the Office of Inspector General (OIG).

The Board's OIG audits and investigates Board programs and operations as well as those Board functions delegated to the Reserve Banks. Completed and active GAO reviews and completed OIG audits, reviews, and assessments are listed in the Board's Annual Report. (Before 2002, the reviews were listed in the Board's Annual Report: Budget Review.)

The financial statements of the Reserve Banks are also audited annually by an independent outside auditor.

Each week, the Federal Reserve publishes its balance sheet and charts of recent balance sheet trends, as well as provides an interactive guide to the Fed's balance sheet. The balance sheet is included in the Federal Reserve's H.4.1 statistical release, "Factors Affecting Reserve Balances of Depository Institutions and Condition Statement of Federal Reserve Banks."

In addition, the Reserve Banks are subject to annual examination by the Board. The Board's financial statements and the combined financial statements for the Reserve Banks are published in the Board's Annual Report.


here's Bernie remarking on an audit in 2011:

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The first top-to-bottom audit of the Federal Reserve uncovered eye-popping new details about how the U.S. provided a whopping $16 trillion in secret loans to bail out American and foreign banks and businesses during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. An amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders to the Wall Street reform law passed one year ago this week directed the Government Accountability Office to conduct the study.

more: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/the-fed-audit

[Skwmom]

13. Meaningful audits?

Reserve Board auditing itself - yeah that's real meaningful.

The Independent Auditors - They only do a certain type of audit and it may not even be worth the paper it is written on. Public accounting firms work within a system that is rife with corruption. Watch American Greed sometime.

The GAO. Just because it performs numerous reviews does NOT mean that there aren't plenty of REALLY meaningful operations and transactions that are NOT being reviewed. Plus, it is 2016. Has the Fed had another in-depth audit?

[bigtree]

16. what do you think you'd get out of Rand Paul's bill?

...because THAT'S what this is about - not some fantastical audit that you've imagined Sen. Sanders voted for.


2011: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/the-fed-audit

[Skwmom]

20. So why hasn't such an audited been performed since 2011?

I'm beginning to think that they are desperate to keep either recent or future actions hidden from the American Public - especially with an election coming up.

[Cali_Democrat]

6. Why is Bernie joining with the Republicans on this?

[Lucky Luciano]

8. I support Bernie, but agree with Warren and her reasoning. nt

[Agschmid]

15. Thanks for posting, glad she is my Senator!

[ram2008]

19. I agree with Warren, but will continue my support for Bernie

Just one bill.

[bigtree]

21. that's reasonable

...

[bigtree]

22. kick