By Cong. John Culberson
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. Its often said that sunshine is the best disinfectant. Too often our bloated federal bureaucracy operates in the dark unelected bureaucrats write burdensome and ineffective regulations with little public input. The Federal Reserve (the
Fed") which is run by an unelected Board of Governors is the perfect example.
They do not disclose how money is being invested and they lack basic oversight and transparency.
This is why I cosponsored H.R. 24 the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2013 or the Audit the Fed" bill. The bill recently passed the House in a bipartisan vote of 333 to 92 and requires a comprehensive audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve Banks.
The Fed conducts some of our nations most important businessmonetary policy decisions loans to banks and interactions with foreign governmentsbehind closed doors. Its funding doesnt come from Congressional appropriations and its decisions
arent subject to congressional or presidential approval.
It is absolutely critical that we increase openness and oversight for this system. For instance
a partial audit in 2011 found that the banking system loaned $16 trillion to financial institutions including $3 trillion to foreign banks from 2007-2010.
This just shows that we need more transparency when it comes to the Fed.
The Audit the Fed bill is now pending in the Senate and I encourage you to contact our Texas Senators and express your support for this important bill.
