Free Republic

For many Americans, the financial crisis, and the recession it spawned, have been devastating -- jobs, homes, savings lost. Understandably, many people are calling for change. Yet change needs to be about creating a system that works better, not just differently. As a nation, our challenge is to design a system of financial oversight that will embody the lessons of the past two years and provide a robust framework for preventing future crises and the economic damage they cause. These matters are complex, and Congress is still in the midst of considering how best to reform financial regulation. I am...

"White House Defends Stimulus Act Despite Government Audit Questioning the Job Numbers" SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) - The White House defended the effectiveness of the economic stimulus act on Monday after a government audit last week called many of the reported job numbers into question. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that $173 billion of the $787 billion stimulus package had been paid out by the federal government as of Sept. 30. That’s about 22 percent of the total, and it indicates that 78 percent of the stimulus funds have not been paid out – at a time when unemployment was rising."

The House Financial Services Committee has approved Rep. Ron Paul’s measure to drastically expand the government’s power to audit the Federal Reserve. The measure, based on a Paul proposal that has attracted more than 300 co-sponsors, passed, 43-26, as an amendment to a financial reform bill. Florida Democrat and fellow Fed critic Alan Grayson co-sponsored the amendment with Paul and played a leading role drumming up support for it among committee members. The adoption of this amendment is an extraordinary victory for Paul, whose libertarian, anti-Fed leanings have often been dismissed by the political establishment.

This one is definitely worth a read folks. It appears that Representative Cummings, along with a half-dozen other Representatives, have had enough of The Fed's games. They are now calling for a FULL CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW of THE ENTIRE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM, including A FULL PUBLIC AUDIT. GET ON THE PHONE NOW TO YOUR REP AND RAISE HELL. MOMENTUM ON THIS IS BUILDING, AND IT IS UP TO **US** TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. To this I say: It's about damn time. (click for larger images)

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has a bill with 300 sponsors that won’t pass, which is very unfortunate, but revealing. Let me suggest a variation that might pass, and would be extremely valuable: Let’s begin with a complete audit of all bailout programs initiated by the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and other relevant agencies. This audit would be all-inclusive, from top to bottom. It would include zero- to low-interest loans and financing facilities. It would include federal purchases of any form of financial instrument that was initiated in response to the financial crisis. It would include all...

NYT's Edmund Andrews has a curious piece out on Ben Bernanke and the Fed, which, I'm guessing was mostly supplied by Barney Frank. Since, Frank comes off as the hero in the piece. (Well, hero in the sense of power manipulator)Andrews writes: ...when [Bernanke] sat down shortly after 8 a.m. on Oct. 1 at the Rayburn House Office Building for coffee and muffins with Representative Barney Frank, the rumpled and wisecracking chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, he took in some blunt advice. Voters had become suspicious and unnerved by the Fed because of its trillion-dollar efforts to bail...

Rarely does a single piece of mail cause one's heart to flutter, face to flush and knees to buckle. But, then again, rarely does a piece of mail arrive with the dreaded return address: Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service That's the "Welcome Home" that greeted me this past Tuesday as I dragged myself through the front door after a rough day of earning a living, playing golf and ferrying adolescent infants from one suburban soiree to another. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I owed our esteemed and infallible federal government... $11,589.22! Holy smoke. What did I...

Last week a new bill was introduced in the Senate to audit the Federal Reserve. Some backers of my bill HR1207 and the existing Senate companion bill S.604 were a little miffed at this, but depending on how you think about it, this new legislation poses no great threat to our efforts. With the economy in shambles, people are looking for answers - not just because of lost savings on Wall Street, but because of lost houses on Main Street. Because of the many problems we face, the Federal Reserve and its powers over the economy have come under scrutiny....

The Clark County Republican Party has never had an Audit! Why is it that the leadership of the Clark County Republican Party doesn’t feel the need to follow their own bylaws and have an audit? There has been a report of officers writing checks to themselves without providing receipts for these checks. There has been a report that checks were writing above to allowed amount without the Executive Boards approval. There has been missing tax documents, missing treasurer’s reports, missing executive board meeting minutes, missing computers that hold the financial reports, anything dealing with financial reports are missing, bylaws rules...

Not only is Fannie paper NOT full faith and credit but in addition THEY ARE EXPLICITLY DISCLAIMING AGENCY STATUS! This is on the face of EVERY Fannie (and Freddie) prospectus. All of them. So where is the authority of The Fed to buy this paper, given the constraints in Section 14? Who is The Fed bailing out by monetizing Fannie and Freddie paper when it is quite clear on the face of that prospectus and a clean read of Section 14 that they don't have the authority to buy that paper in the first place? Now do you understand why...

<p>Legislation giving U.S. government investigators broader authority to audit the Federal Reserve could erode confidence in the central bank’s independence and ability to conduct monetary policy, a top Fed official will tell lawmakers Friday.</p> <p>Fed General Counsel Scott Alvarez, in testimony prepared for a Friday hearing, said legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives giving the Government Accountability Office greater leeway to examine the central bank could have a detrimental effect.</p>

House lawmakers want to pry open the books of the famously secretive Federal Reserve with legislation that would subject the central bank to a sweeping congressional audit. The effort is overwhelmingly bipartisan. Hardline conservatives and liberal Democrats have banded together in their criticism of the Fed as a major power broker in the financial system that doesn't answer to Congress. Friday's debate comes as lawmakers consider a proposal by President Barack Obama that would give the Fed new powers to prevent another economic crisis. "Nobody in my district thinks that the Fed has done such a wonderful job of running...

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, the self-styled progressive Democrat from Orlando, would seem to have little in common with U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a libertarian Republican from Texas who ran for president last year. But they both share a deep-seated mistrust of government secrecy in general and the Federal Reserve in particular. Grayson was elected to Congress last year just as the Fed was parceling out the better part of $700 billion to U.S. and foreign banks considered at risk of failure, as part of the Bush (and Obama) administration's response to a worldwide financial crisis. And even as he began...

The program operated by the San Francisco district attorney's office targeting customers of prostitutes has ill-defined goals and no way to determine its effectiveness, according to a new audit by the city's budget analyst. Despite being touted as a national model that comes at no cost to taxpayers, the audit said the program didn't cover its expenses in each of the last five years, leading to a $270,000 shortfall. The program has first-time offenders arrested for soliciting a prostitute pay as much as $1,000 for a one-day class taught by sex-trafficking experts, former prostitutes and others in exchange for having...

On Friday, September 25th the House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a full committee hearing on Ron Paul’s HR.1207 to audit the Federal Reserve. The hearing is slated to begin at 9am eastern time. For details and a link to the (eventual) live streaming video of the hearing check out the committee website. As with many of these committee hearings the schedule is tentative and right now there are no witnesses listed. By now we know what the opponents of the bill will argue, but it doesn’t change the fact that the bill has over 290 bipartisan cosponsors and 75%...

Updated on September 18, 2009 On record so far on www.thomas.gov. Title: To amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 2/26/2009) Co-sponsors (290) Latest Major Action: 2/26/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. NEW - a link to contact the house financial services committee: http://financialservices.... Here's 2 related links for...

Obama and his banker friends can't stop the Fed audit, 290+ co-sponsors in Congress means it's veto proof.

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), informs Congress that there will be hearings to audit the Federal Reserve and why he supports them.

Congressman Ron Paul informed Campaign for Liberty today that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank will hold hearings on H.R. 1207, Congressman Paul`s bill to audit the Federal Reserve. The hearings are tentatively set to take place Friday, September 25th at 9:00 am. "The Federal Reserve wields tremendous power and is at the center of our current economic storm of deficits, debt and bailouts.Congressman Barney Frank should be commended for his willingness to hold hearings on Fed transparency," said Campaign for Liberty President John Tate. "A full and thorough Audit of the Federal Reserve is now supported by over...

After decades of pushing long-shot causes like abolishing the income tax and reinstating the gold standard, Republican Representative Ron Paul finds himself in an unaccustomed spot: on the cusp of legislative victory. A majority of the libertarian-leaning Texan's colleagues in the House of Representatives support his proposal to increase congressional scrutiny of the Federal Reserve, and the measure could be included in a broader banking overhaul this fall. But don't expect the House to take up Paul's other pet causes, such as pulling out of the United Nations. Experts say the success of his Federal Reserve Scrutiny Act reflects rising...

Just how transparent is the work of unelected staff members of the Air Resources Board as they prepare to micromanage California's private economy with as-yet unwritten regulations to curb global warming? Already, the state Air Resources Board is being challenged about how it has spent $57 million of tax money advanced by the Legislature to implement 2006's Global Warming Solutions Act, which ambitiously – and we feel unnecessarily – aims to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The ARB contends every dime is fully accounted for in a 141-page summary of 50,000 documents that show where the money has been spent to...

Rep. Ron Paul’s proposal to fully audit the Federal Reserve system by the end of 2010 appears likely to find its way into legislation in some form. Mr. Paul and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank plan to meet with other lawmakers in the coming weeks to determine how the Government Accountability Office would conduct the audit and what information would be released. What does the GAO audit now? The GAO’s oversight of the Fed system is limited to areas outside of monetary policy. That includes everything from bank supervision to consumer issues to payment systems. The Fed’s annual...

On Friday, I stated Barney Frank Says Ron Paul's Audit The Fed Bill Will Pass In October. Quite a few others made the same mistake as noted by RonPaul.Com in Misinformation Alert: Barney Frank Never Said That HR 1207 Will Pass In October. Several blogs and forums reported during the past 24 hours that Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, said that Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve, HR 1207, will pass in October. Incorrect Reports about Barney Frank’s Statement on HR 1207 * Washington Times: Barney Frank says Ron Paul bill will pass* Politico:...

Three out of Four Americans Support a Federal Reserve Audit Filed Under: Government and Legislation With yesterday’s ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska that ordered the Federal Reserve to hand over records regarding the lending of taxpayer money to various financial institution, there’s renewed interest in keeping the federal government accountable for their financial practices—especially when it comes to bailouts and monetary policy. There are currently two pieces of legislation in Congress, HR 1207, which has 282 co-sponsors (101 of which are Democrats) and S 604 which has 23 co-sponsors that would bring new accountability to the Federal...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is strongly opposing a proposal in Congress, which enjoys the support of over half of the U.S. House of Representatives, to audit the Fed. During an appearance on PBS's NewsHour, which will be aired this week on local PBS stations, Bernanke said the proposed legislation would interfere with the central bank's independence. "I don't think the American people want Congress running monetary policy," he said. "And I think that's very very critical for people to understand." (See transcript below.) This is an odd claim. If you read the bill (H.R.1207), it simply amends existing law...

Representative Ron Paul has got some momentum behind his ‘audit the Fed’ bill. On both sides of the aisle. And for good cause: Why shouldn’t the people have access to the records of this secretive bank, the very bank with a monopoly to mint US coin? Trillions of dollars of stimulus funds were routed to the Fed where, ultimately, they disappeared. No one knows where they went. Apparently, not even upper Fed management. This should be troubling, especially since during just one month (March, 2009) the Fed increased its System liquidity $2.2 trillion. ~snip~ They’ve also been using the money,...

A friend of mine got a call from the IRS. He is getting audited. He and another friend that worked for the same company, had the boss hanging out over their shoulder, who browbeat them into taking riskier deductions than perhaps they might have. Both are getting audited. My friend is seeking the collective wisdom of the group with regards to audits. 1) total transparency 2) get a lawyer 3) a particular strategery Thank you FRiends.

More than 250 prominent economists warned that critics of the Federal Reserve are putting "the independence of U.S. monetary policy...at risk," and they urged Congress to back off lest it undermine the Fed's ability to manage the economy and thwart inflation. The petition reflects growing unease among professors, former Fed officials and some investors that the vehemence of the criticism from Congress of the Fed's handling of the financial crisis suggests a readiness to weaken the freedom the Fed has to move interest rates as it sees fit. "The interactions with Congress are becoming increasingly hostile," said Anil Kashyap, a...

Our country currently finds itself in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s and, as during all economic crises, people search for the answer as to why this has happened. Not only have large financial firms have been affected, but also mainstays of American industry such as GM and Chrysler, all the way down to the Mom & Pop stores on Main Street. The easy way out is to blame the traditional scapegoats: foreign governments, fraudulent businessmen, and greedy speculators. But the real villain is far more sinister; the organization entrusted with maintaining a stable dollar and...

With well over 230 co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle in the House of Representatives, Texas Congressman Ron Paul's effort to force an audit of the Federal Reserve is being led in the Senate by none other than South Carolina conservative Sen. Jim DeMint. Last month, DeMint became the first Republican senator to support Senate Bill 604, the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009, and since then has talked extensively on radio and television about the importance of transparency with regard to the Fed. Yesterday, however, he took it a step further, attempting to attach the full text of...

He may have faded from the national political scene a year ago, after his dark-horse presidential run came to naught, but Rep. Ron Paul ’s influence is still being felt in campaigns and policy debates across the country. Indeed, the latest legislative priority of the libertarian Texas Republican — auditing the Federal Reserve — has gained support in unlikely quarters. Paul’s legislation, popularly known as the “Audit the Fed” bill, has drawn 244 cosponsors, ranging from Ohio’s John A. Boehner , the conservative Republican floor leader, to Michigan’s John Conyers Jr. , the liberal Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee....

No raids. No guns. No ICE. And the taxpayers don't use a dime of border patrol money to get it done.

I have been very pleased with the progress of my legislation, HR 1207, which calls for a complete audit of the Federal Reserve and removes many significant barriers towards transparency of our monetary system. This bill now has nearly 170 cosponsors, with support from both Republicans and Democrats. Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a companion bill in the Senate S 604, which will hopefully begin to gain momentum as well. I am very encouraged to see so many of my colleagues in Congress stand with me for greater transparency in government. Some have begun to push back against this bill,...

... At his Arizona State University commencement speech last Wednesday, Mr. Obama noted that ASU had refused to grant him an honorary degree, citing his lack of experience, and the controversy this had caused. He then demonstrated ASU's point by remarking, "I really thought this was much ado about nothing, but I do think we all learned an important lesson. I learned never again to pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA brackets. . . . President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS." Just a joke...

A private Fed runs the Public good supposedly, Fed hides AIG counterparties payments in secret, inccestuous relationships between Wall Street and Fed mean insiders control the market economy, a shadow banking system that monetized debt and destroyed the lives of untold numbers of people, our lives and our economy would be better off without the fed

It's been all over the news - Rush Limbaugh packing up camp and abandoning his operations in New York City. It's been the subject of a Jon Stewart "The Daily Show" tirade [0] and even drew the attention of New York Gov. David Paterson [0]. Limbaugh appeared on Fox News Channel's April 8 "Your World with Neil Cavuto" [1] and explained why he was leaving and how he felt about those that were glad he was leaving. "Well, if they're glad I'm leaving, Neil, then I assume that the governor of New York, the unelected governor - has no interest...

Radio Dialogue paraphrase:Rush was discussing the Audit extremes foisted on him by the State of New York. The new New York State and City Taxes are targeting "rich folk". He will broadcast from his Florida home but also wants to find a Hurricane proof have. He said that he might move to Texas because there is no State Income tax.We Lone Star T=State Freepers should show our support and invite hime to "come on down". Of course as a DFW_phile I'd like to see him in my own backyard!

Non-Profit may describe a newspaper's balance sheet, but it does not describe its tax status, unless of course, if Senator Benjamin Cardin( D-Md.) gets his way. The Senator introduced a bill on the Senate floor today that would allow newspapers to elect to receive tax-exempt status all they have to do is promise not to endorse any political candidates (but they can report on the campaign):

On many issues of public concern, from food safety to the financial crisis, legislators and commentators line up on one side or the other: Either these failures prove that the free market doesn't work and that more government regulation is required, or that our regulatory structure doesn't work and that more free enterprise is required. Both positions ignore a common thread -- the failure of "guardian structures" to do their jobs properly. The question is why. It may not be obvious what unites the shipping of salmonella-laced peanut products, the issuance of mortgages without property value adequate to back them...

Province's clean-energy bill would raise hydro rates, promote alternative power and create 50,000 jobs Ontario residents won't be able to sell their houses or condos without first getting a home energy audit – which now costs about $300 – under the proposed new Green Energy Act. That's one of several measures in the legislation unveiled by Energy Minister George Smitherman to boost incentives for electricity conservation and encourage renewable sources of energy. The legislation was applauded by environmentalists as ambitious, although the David Suzuki Foundation says its green intent is undermined by government plans to build a new nuclear power...

Obama’s choice for Treasury secretary disclosed publicly Tuesday that he failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in federal taxes from 2001 to 2004. Senate Democrats tried to brush aside the last-minute complication as a minor bump on an otherwise smooth path to confirmation for Timothy Geithner, who has been president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. After the underpayments were detected, Geithner paid back taxes and interest totaling $43,200.

"According to a published report this week, the Federal Election Commission is unlikely to vote to audit the Obama campaign finances, and will sweep aside a formal demand for an full audit that was filed by the Republican National Committee on Oct. 6. "But interviews with current and former FEC officials, as well as a review of FEC commissioners' public statements, suggest that the commission could pursue an “audit for cause” of the Obama campaign, based in part on allegations of widespread fraud and illegal donors as reported by Newsmax.com and other publications during the election season. "Helping impede the...

According to a published report earlier this week, the Federal Election Commission is unlikely to vote to audit the Obama campaign finances, and will sweep aside a formal demand for an full audit that was filed by the Republican National Committee on Oct. 6. But interviews with current and former FEC officials, as well as a review of public statements by FEC commissioners, suggest that the commission could pursue an “audit for cause” of the Obama campaign, based in part on allegations of widespread fraud and illegal donors as reported by Newsmax.com and other publications during the election season. “There...

The Federal Election Commission is not likely to conduct a potentially embarrassing audit of Barack Obama’s record-breaking fundraising campaign despite allegations of questionable donations and accounting. That’s the disclosure from Politico.com, which reports that Obama will probably escape scrutiny in large part because unlike John McCain, he declined to accept $84 million in public financing.

The Federal Election Commission is unlikely to conduct a potentially embarrassing audit of how Barack Obama raised and spent his presidential campaign’s record-shattering windfall, despite allegations of questionable donations and accounting that had the McCain campaign crying foul. Adding insult to injury for Republicans: The FEC is obligated to complete a rigorous audit of McCain’s campaign coffers, which will take months, if not years, and cost McCain millions of dollars to defend. Obama is expected to escape that level of scrutiny mostly because he declined an $84 million public grant for his campaign that automatically triggers an audit and because...

The Federal Election Commission is unlikely to conduct a potentially embarrassing audit of how Barack Obama raised and spent his presidential campaign’s record-shattering windfall, despite allegations of questionable donations and accounting that had the McCain campaign crying foul. Adding insult to injury for Republicans: The FEC is obligated to complete a rigorous audit of McCain’s campaign coffers, which will take months, if not years, and cost McCain millions of dollars to defend.

Audit suggests grade inflation, lawmakers toldSaturday, Oct 11, 2008 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - A state audit released Friday suggested grade inflation occurred in a Southeast Arkansas college studies program for high school students, and lawmakers asked the state Department of Education to look into whether any teachers involved should have their licenses revoked. "The sad thing about this is the victims are the children," said Sen. Terry Smith, D-Hot Springs, while discussing the audit during a meeting of the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee. Norman Hill, retired Monticello School District superintendent who does consulting work for...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- MSNBC pundit Keith Olbermann, who spotlights misbehavior nightly with his "Worst Person in the World" recognition, owes New York state for unpaid business taxes, according to a tax warrant notice. And his conservative counterparts and bloggers are making sure the debt is fodder in the ongoing political commentators' feud. Olbermann, the host of "Countdown," owes New York $2,269.50, according to a tax warrant obtained by The Associated Press. State Tax and Finance Department spokesman Tom Bergin said the debt recorded against the TV host's Olbermann Broadcasting Empire Inc., based in Los Angeles, is still open. MSNBC spokesman...

St. Sabina's website continues to go after political opponents: Criminalizing gun ownership encouraged, State Reps. and Senators who support Second Amendment are targeted 6/2/2008 12:00:00 PM -CCI In spite of the so-called "agreement" between Cardinal George and Rev. Pfleger, stating that the embattled pastor of St. Sabina's would refrain from all political activism, the web site for St. Sabina's continues to be engaged in politics. A long time opponent of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, Rev. Pfleger attracted national attention last year (which was his goal) when he and Jesse Jackson were arrested after invading a gun shop and...

The inspector general for the Defense Department said yesterday that the Pentagon cannot account for almost $15 billion worth of goods and services ranging from trucks, bottled water and mattresses to rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns that were bought from contractors in the Iraq reconstruction effort. The Pentagon did not have the proper documentation, including receipts, vouchers, signatures, invoices or other paperwork, for $7.8 billion that American and Iraqi contractors were paid for phones, folders, paint, blankets, Nissan trucks, laundry services and other items, according to a 69-page audit released to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. An...