Can Rand Successfully Block Fed Nominees? We Hope So, We Need Full Transparency Of The Fed.

Rand Paul Will Hold Up Fed Nominees Unless His Audit Bill Gets A Vote

May 13, 2014 by Sam Rolley 

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Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) threatened to block three nominees to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors unless lawmakers are allowed to vote on his Federal Reserve Transparency Act (S.209).

Paul said he would “object to any unanimous consent agreement or the waiver of any rule with respect to these nominees without a vote on S. 209” in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

The Kentucky Republican wrote:

As the Senate debates the Federal Reserve Board nominees, there is no more appropriate time to provide Congress with additional oversight and scrutiny of the actions and decisions of the central banks. Therefore, I request that my bipartisan legislation, S. 209, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, be scheduled for an up or down vote concurrently with nominees to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

My bill calls to eliminate all restrictions placed on Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits of the Federal Reserve. The Fed’s credit facilities, securities purchases, and quantitative easing activities would also be subject to Congressional oversight. Similar legislation passed 327-98, with bipartisan support, in the House of Representatives on July 25, 2012. This same bill has been stalled in the Senate for more than three years.

Paul issued a similar threat last year when Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s nomination was under Senate consideration. The Senator was unsuccessful in forcing a vote on his bill at the time, but managed to drum up significant public support for a Fed audit.

The latest effort to stymie Fed nominations comes as the Board of Governors is severely shorthanded, with only three members left on the seven-member board.