Amendment Allows Small Banks to Choose Their Regulator

Earlier today, the Senate also approved — by an overwhelming 90 to 9 margin — a bipartisan amendment allowing the Federal Reserve to continue to supervise state-chartered banks and banks with less than $50 billion in assets. Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) financial regulatory reform bill initially transferred supervisory authority to More…

More Robust Amendment to Audit the Fed Fails to Pass

Just minutes after the Senate passed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) Audit the Fed amendment 96-0, an amendment proposed by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) to strengthen Sanders’ amendment failed, 37-62.

Vitter wanted to sub in language requiring the Government Accountability Office to audit the Fed continually. He proposed substituting language More…

Audit the Fed Passes in 96-0 Bipartisan Landslide

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) Audit the Fed amendment to Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) financial regulatory reform bill just passed the Senate in a bipartisan landslide, 96-0 — with every Senator present on board with the populist amendment. The Sanders amendment requires the Government Accountability Office to audit most of the More…

Ron Paul Slams Fed Audit Compromise

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has for the past 30 years argued for a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve’s books (as well as a gradual unwinding of the country’s central bank). Today, the Senate will vote on a watered-down version of his proposal — a one-time audit, rather than continual More…

Fed Opens Currency Swap Lines With Europe

Last night at 9:15 p.m., as part of a $1 trillion international package to rescue Europe from its debt as Greece teeters on the brink of default, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it has reopened currency swap lines with the European Central Bank. Essentially, the Fed will print dollars More…

Audit the Fed Politicking Heats Up, as Reid Indicates His Yes Vote

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tells Ryan Grim of the Huffington Post that he is leaning toward voting for two controversial amendments: one provision by Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) to break up big banks and create hard asset and leverage caps, and More…

Bernanke Letter Argues Against Audit the Fed

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has sent a letter to Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), the head of the Banking Committee and the architect of the financial regulatory reform proposal currently before Congress, urging him not to adopt an amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to open the Fed’s books to More…

Audit the Fed Up Today

Yesterday, the Senate passed by overwhelming margins two amendments to Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) financial regulatory reform bill: One sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), to ensure no further taxpayer dollars go to Wall Street bailouts, and one agreed to by Dodd and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) to drop the More…

Is the Fed’s Legislative Outreach Really Weak?

With Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) attempting to round up votes for an Audit the Fed amendment to Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) financial regulatory reform proposal, Jon Hilsenrath of The Wall Street Journal takes note of the problems at the Fed’s congressional liaison office.

The Federal Reserve’s efforts to fend

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Sanders Stands Up to Big Nuke

These days, in their efforts to patch together a bipartisan coalition to pass climate legislation, Democrats have been falling over themselves to kowtow to nuclear energy. From President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu to members of Congress such as Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Democrats have readily agreed with their More…