By Chelsea Schilling - WorldNetDaily
Ron Paul: They may have won this battle but theyre not going to win the war
Despite more than 120 co-sponsors of a bill to audit the Federal Reserve nearly all Democrats flip-flopping and voting against the effort Rep. Ron Paul is warning that the Fed will not win the war for an honest monetary system.
Paul R-Texas has led the charge to audit the Federal Reserve the private organization that sets interest rates and money policy affecting everyone in the United States.
For decades those decisions have been made behind closed doors and Paul has been trying to open the door and allow some light to fall on the procedures. He sponsored the audit the Fed bill previously supported by 320 members of the House. However the audit provision failed by a vote of 229-198.
Even though they may have won this battle theyre not going to win the war Paul said in a video posted today on the Daily Paul. What theyre doing is going to be devastating to us because this piece of legislation actually gave more power to the Federal Reserve not less more power to the regulators more effort to keep themselves in secret. … For those individuals that believe in monetary reform and transparency we will keep the heat on the Fed until we get an honest monetary system.
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As WND reported when efforts to force an audit came before the Senate Bernie Sanders the self-described socialist but politically unaffiliated senator from Vermont put forward new language that Paul warned would strip the teeth from the House version.
At the very last minute on the floor of the Senate supposed compromise language was agreed to and substituted in the Sanders Amendment to the Financial Reform Bill Paul wrote on his blog. This language was acceptable to the administration committee leadership and to the Fed. The trouble is while it is better than no audit at all it guts the spirit of a truly meaningful audit of the most crucial transactions of the Fed. In fact rather than still calling the Sanders Amendment an audit maybe it should instead be called more of a disclosure at this point.
The new language of the Sanders Amendment requires a one-time disclosure from the Fed of 13(3) facilities foreign currency swaps and mortgage-backed securities Paul explained. Basically their sins of the past would be revealed and Americans would know more about who got bailed out by the Fed and under what terms. This would be good but its not nearly enough.
In May the White House said it was working with Sanders. They later came to a compromise agreeing that the audit wouldnt influence the Feds monetary policies. In negotiations with Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd D-Conn. and officials from the Fed Sanders successfully watered down the audit and restricted it to a one-time peek at lending activity from Dec. 1 2007 until the present. The Senate passed the weaker amendment on May 11 by a vote of 96-0. The amendment had the support of the Obama administration.
The blog Cunning Realist noted Chuck Schumer grinning put his arm around Sanders on the Senate floor after Sanders announced changes to his amendment.
To counter the Sanders Amendment Sen. David Vitter R-La. put forward another amendment restoring some of the original language of the more thorough audit.
The Senate however voted down the Vitter Amendment 37-62 while passing the Sanders Amendment.
The Wall Street Journal confirmed the maneuvering because of pressure from the Obama administration would allow the Federal Reserve to sidestep legislation that would have exposed its interest-rate decision-making to congressional auditors.
So when the bill comes back to the House guess what? We dont have the audit bill provision in there Paul explained. So I was able to offer an amendment which was the recommit amendment to send it back to committee and put back in the true audit.
The motion to recommit would have sent the bill back to committee to add in the Fed audit.
An interesting thing happened here because we do have 320 co-sponsors of 1207 and it passed the committee rather easily and it was not challenged on the House floor in the first go-around Paul said. Here we were on the House floor with a chance to put it back in and … individuals who were co-sponsors of the legislation voted against it.
He added This is the way this system works too often. People do flip-flop and they do change. But it also reflects the fact that the Federal Reserve is a very powerful institution. They were able to influence these votes.
In an interview with the The Alex Jones Show Paul said It tells you about the hypocrisy of this whole place and how it works and how powerful the Fed is.
Almost all of the flip-flopping co-sponsors were Democrats. Three Republicans were counted as not voting: Utahs Rep. Rob Bishop Tennessees Rep. Zach Wamp and Alaskas Rep. Don Young.
Does that mean its over and done with? Paul asked. Well pretty much so even though theres a slight possibility another type of legislation that deals with banking regulations may come up before the end of the year and we may get a chance to offer as a recommital motion if the leadership on the Republican side permits it. But as for now it looks like we will not have a full audit.
However Paul said there is an advantage to the unsuccessful effort.
Believe me a lot of benefit has come from this he said. The Federal Reserve will not get off completely because more people in this country than ever before know that the Federal Reserve is very very important. They know they were responsible for the problems that we have and they know that they work in secrecy. The American people want to know about it.
The following U.S. representatives co-sponsored H.R.1207 but later flip-flopped voting against the motion to recommit the full Fed audit to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009:
Switched to Nay after co-sponsoring H.R.1207
Adler John (D-N.J.)
Altmire Jason (D-Pa.)
Arcuri Michael (D-N.Y.)
Baird Brian (D-Wash.)
Baldwin Tammy (D-Wis.)
Barrow John (D-Ga.)
Berkley Shelley (D-Nev.)
Berry Marion (D-Ark.)
Bishop Sanford (D-Ga.)
Bishop Timothy (D-N.Y.)
Boccieri John (D-Ohio)
Boren Dan (D-Okla.)
Boswell Leonard L. (D-Iowa)
Boyd Allen (D-Fla.)
Braley Bruce (D-Iowa)
Bright Bobby (D-Ala.)
Brown Corrine (D-Fla.)
Chandler Ben (D-Ky.)
Chu Judy (D-Calif.)
Clay William Lacy (D-Mo.)
Cohen Steve (D-Tenn.)
Conyers John (D-Mich.)
Courtney Joe (D-Conn.)
Cuellar Henry (D-Texas)
Dahlkemper Kathleen (D-Pa.)
Davis Danny (D-Ill.)
Davis Lincoln (D-Tenn.)
DeFazio Peter (D-Ore.)
Delahunt Bill (D-Mass.)
Doggett Lloyd (D-Texas)
Doyle Michael (D-Pa.)
Driehaus Steve (D-Ohio)
Edwards Donna (D-Md.)
Farr Sam (D-Calif.)
Filner Bob (D-Calif.)
Fudge Marcia (D-Ohio)
Gordon Bart (D-Tn.)
Grijalva Raul (D-Ariz.)
Halvorson Deborah (D-Ill.)
Hare Phil (D-Ill.)
Harman Jane (D-Calif.)
Heinrich Martin (D-N.M.)
Herseth Sandlin Stephanie (D-S.D.)
Higgins Brian (D-N.Y.)
Hill Baron (D-Ind.)
Hinchey Maurice (D-N.Y.)
Hinojosa Ruben (D-Texas)
Hirono Mazie (D-Hawaii)
Holden Tim (D-Pa.)
Inslee Jay (D-Wash.)
Jackson Jessie (D-Ill.)
Johnson Henry (D-Ga.)
Johnson Eddie Bernice (D-Texas)
Kagen Steve (D-Wis.)
Kaptur Marcy (D-Ohio)
Kildee Dale (D-Mich.)
Kilpatrick Carolyn (D-Mich.)
Kissell Larry (D-N.C.)
Kosmas Suzanne (D-Fla.)
Kucinich Dennis (D-Ohio)
Langevin James (D-R.I.)
Lewis John (D-Ga.)
Loebsack David (D-Iowa)
Lofgren Zoe (D-Calif.)
Lujn Ben Ray (D-N.M.)
Maffei Daniel (D-N.Y.)
McDermott Jim (D-Wash.)
McGovern James (D-Mass.)
Melancon Charlie (D-La.)
Michaud Michael (D-Maine)
Miller Brad (D-N.C.)
Murphy Christopher (D-Conn.)
Murphy Scott (D-N.Y.)
Murphy Patrick (D-Pa.)
Nadler Jerrold (D-N.Y.)
Oberstar James (DFL-Minn.)
Ortiz Solomon (D-Texas)
Pascrell Bill (D-N.J.)
Pastor Ed (D-Ariz.)
Payne Donald (D-N.J.)
Perlmutter Ed (D-Colo.)
Peterson Collin (D-Minn.)
Pingree Chellie (D-Maine)
Polis Jared (D-Colo.)
Quigley Mike (D-Ill.)
Reyes Silvestre (D-Texas)
Richardson Laura (D-Calif.)
Rodriguez Ciro (D-Texas)
Rothman Steven (D-N.J.)
Ruppersberger C.A. Dutch (D-Md.)
Ryan Tim (D-Ohio)
Salazar John T. (D-Colo.)
Sarbanes John (D-Md.)
Schakowsky Janice (D-Ill.)
Schauer Mark (D-Mich.)
Schiff Adam (D-Calif.)
Schrader Kurt (D-Ore.)
Scott David (D-Ga.)
Shea-Porter Carol (D-N.H.)
Sherman Brad (D-Calif.)
Shuler Heath (D-N.C.)
Slaughter Louise McIntosh (D-N.Y.)
Smith Adam (D-Wash.)
Snyder Vic (D-Ark.)
Speier Jackie (D-Calif.)
Spratt John (D-S.C.)
Stark Fortney Pete (D-Calif.)
Sutton Betty (D-Ohio)
Thompson Bennie (D-Miss.)
Tierney John (D-Mass.)
Tonko Paul (D-N.Y.)
Visclosky Peter (D-Ind.)
Walz Timothy (DFL-Minn.)
Weiner Anthony (D-N.Y.)
Welch Peter (D-Vt.)
Wu David (D-Ore.)
Yarmuth John (D-Ky.)
Not voting
Bishop Rob (R-Utah)
Taylor Gene (D-Miss.)
Wamp Zach (R-Tenn.)
Woolsey Lynn (D-Calif)
Young Don (R-Alaska)
