Posted by Matt Hawes on 03/02/09 10:28 PM Last updated 03/02/09 10:04 PM   [Newer: Ron Paul on "Washington Watch"] [Older: Rachel Goes to CPAC, Part 2]

As Dr. Paul and others discussed at CPAC, Campaign for Liberty is committed to getting H.R. 1207, a bill to audit the Federal Reserve System, passed in this Congress.

Since its creation in 1913, the Fed's control of money and credit in this country has resulted in a 95% devaluation of our dollar and the piling up, just in the last year, of almost $10 trillion in bailouts and loans.

The Fed has so far resisted attempts to provide information on how it is spending the bailout money and currently dictates how accountable it will be to Congress.

Introduced last Thursday, H.R. 1207 already has bipartisan support with 11 cosponsors from all across the country.  In contrast to the massive "stimulus" package, Dr. Paul's bill can be read in less than five minutes.

Our new Audit the Fed flier was hugely popular last week at CPAC, and we are confident that the current economic crisis has created interest in many who had previously been closed to such an idea.  We've now added it to our "Fliers" section so you can print them out and spread the word!

With your help, we will get this bill through the Financial Services Committee, the House and Senate, and to the president's desk.  And we will be there to hold the politicians accountable for how they vote.

It's long past time for the Fed's books to be opened.  We can make it happen, and we can do it this year.

Posted 03/03/09 12:54 AM Caleb Kinley Hot Springs, AR

Thank you for the flier. I'll put hundreds of copies into good use...

Posted 03/03/09 03:42 AM ResurrectLiberty New City, NY

Don't forget to message your representatives urging them to cosponsor and support this historic piece of legislation!

Posted 03/03/09 05:56 AM MarilyninLakeJackson Lake Jackson, TX

When will this bill be voted on? And I second RessurectLiberty's post. Email and call all representatives and senators and urge them to vote for H. R. 1207.

Posted 03/03/09 06:14 AM Deb Wells Kansas City, MO

Find your Congress members here: http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/index.htm.

Posted 03/03/09 06:59 AM coolwise Sun Valley, NV

Contact your Representative (by now I think most of us have them in our Browser's Favorites for quick contact info)to urge them to co-sponsor H.R. 1207. I would think the more co-sponsors the better that it will help the process of being brought up in the Committee for House Financial Services for review, debated and voted on. Here is a link for GovTrack on were the bill is at and how to follow the process. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1207

Posted 03/03/09 07:10 AM Kyle Plymouth, MI

Michigan's 11th District Dear Congressman McCotter, I am writing you today, this morning of March 3, 2009, to inform you of my support for H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009. As my representative I hope that you give this bill serious consideration and support it as well. My reasons for supporting this bill are outlined below. Article 1, section 8 of our Constitution grants no authority to the Congress to establish a Central Bank. Yet, almost a century ago, the Federal Reserve System was established under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. I contend that this Act remains unconstitutional. Since the establishment of our Central Bank we have witnessed a downward trend in the value of our currency and economic liberty. As a so-called free society the Central Bank has been a destructive force. It operates outside the legislative or executive process and has no real checks and balances. The Congress is not legally capable of accessing its activities in real time. Many argue that the Federal Reserve is at least partially, if not wholly, responsible for the economic decline. The general concept of a Central Bank certainly was not original to 1913. This system of banking had at least been used as far back as the 17th century when the Bank Of England was established. Thus far in our nation's short lifespan, our former Presidents of the United States Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson have shown true courage and respect for the Constitution by dissolving the First and Second Banks of the United States. I would prefer to see the Federal Reserve System dissolved. This would permit the market to decide, amongst other things, the true price of money (the interest rate). It would however be unfortunately chaotic were the Federal Reserve to vanish overnight. The market has grown accustomed to operating with the Federal Reserve. For this reason, I support the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009. It is a very short document indeed; neatly fitting on one sheet of paper. In your response, please indicate very clearly your position on this bill. For further information about the Federal Reserve and the forces that formed it, "reserve" a few hours of your time to read Murray Rothbard's "The Case Against the Fed" (ISBN-13: 978-0945466178). Thomas Jefferson has some kind words for us about the central bank: "The central bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the Principles and form of our Constitution. I am an Enemy to all banks discounting bills or notes for anything but Coin. If the American People allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the People of all their Property until their Children will wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered." Please also support legislation which would repeal existing legal tender laws. We do not need legal tender laws to force people to take good, sound, money. Conversely, legal tender laws only exist to force people to take bad money; money that they would otherwise if given a choice would not accept. It follows that legal tender laws can either be redundant or destructive. Our case is the latter. Thank you, Kyle Gibson Feel free to use this as a template for contacting your own representatives!

Posted 03/03/09 07:28 AM paulsjv Austin, TX

I sent it to my representative!

Posted 03/03/09 07:33 AM Nagelbett New Bedford, MA

Just emailed my congressman, Barney Frank. This is the first time I've written to him about something he might actually support.

Posted 03/03/09 07:42 AM KathyLatshaw BeaReady Smithville, OH

Kyle .... thanks for posting your letter. I've adopted and modified a bit for my own Rep ;)

Posted 03/03/09 07:44 AM Hamlin Eddystone, PA

What if my congressman isn't in the Financial Services Committee?

Posted 03/03/09 07:51 AM coolwise Sun Valley, NV

Hamlin, your congressman doesn't have to be on the House Financial Services Committee to co-sponsor the bill. Just by co-sponsoring shows support for the bill.

Posted 03/03/09 08:08 AM Joyce Morrell Arlington, IN

Indiana Posting Monday, March 2, 2009 - From Sean Shepard Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN 5th) Joins Ron Paul on FED Transparency Act Indiana's 5th District representative to the U.S. Congress, Dan Burton, has signed on, along with ten other representatives, to Ron Paul's Federal Reserve Transparency Act (HR 1207). The bill's summary says: 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. Out of the ten other co-sponsors, there are three Democrats which is an encouraging sign that there may some bipartisan support for finally getting an audit of the Federal Reserve. Oddly, I became aware of this when a friend in Florida let me know that 61 year old freshman representative Dan Posey, (R-FL 15th) had signed onto the bill. 111th Congress, 1st Session Washington, DC 20515 (202) 224-3121 | TTY: (202) 225-1904 - Take thirty seconds to call! Which Representative dares to say No? ! ! ? http://www.house.gov/Welcome.shtml

Posted 03/03/09 08:56 AM MRoCkEd Cheshire, CT

I'd like to see my congressman come up with a good reason not to support this. I'm sure he'll try.

Posted 03/03/09 09:12 AM minnesotachris Shakopee, MN

Text of Dr. Paul's statement can be found here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r111:E26FE9-0073: Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Federal Reserve Transparency Act. Throughout its nearly 100-year history, the Federal Reserve has presided over the near-complete destruction of the United States dollar. Since 1913 the dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power, aided and abetted by the Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy. How long will we as a Congress stand idly by while hard-working Americans see their savings eaten away by inflation? Only big-spending politicians and politically favored bankers benefit from inflation. Serious discussion of proposals to oversee the Federal Reserve is long overdue. I have been a longtime proponent of more effective oversight and auditing of the Fed, but I was far from the first Congressman to advocate these types of proposals. Esteemed former members of the Banking Committee such as Chairmen Wright Patman and Henry B. Gonzales were outspoken critics of the Fed and its lack of transparency. Since its inception, the Federal Reserve has always operated in the shadows, without sufficient scrutiny or oversight of its operations. While the conventional excuse is that this is intended to reduce the Fed's susceptibility to political pressures, the reality is that the Fed acts as a foil for the government. Whenever you question the Fed about the strength of the dollar, they will refer you to the Treasury, and vice versa. The Federal Reserve has, on the one hand, many of the privileges of government agencies, while retaining benefits of private organizations, such as being insulated from Freedom of Information Act requests. The Federal Reserve can enter into agreements with foreign central banks and foreign governments, and the GAO is prohibited from auditing or even seeing these agreements. Why should a government-established agency, whose police force has federal law enforcement powers, and whose notes have legal tender status in this country, be allowed to enter into agreements with foreign powers and foreign banking institutions with no oversight? Particularly when hundreds of billions of dollars of currency swaps have been announced and implemented, the Fed's negotiations with the European Central Bank, the Bank of International Settlements, and other institutions should face increased scrutiny, most especially because of their significant effect on foreign policy. If the State Department were able to do this, it would be characterized as a rogue agency and brought to heel, and if a private individual did this he might face prosecution under the Logan Act, yet the Fed avoids both fates. More importantly, the Fed's funding facilities and its agreements with the Treasury should be reviewed. The Treasury's supplementary financing accounts that fund Fed facilities allow the Treasury to funnel money to Wall Street without GAO or Congressional oversight. Additional funding facilities, such as the Primary Dealer Credit Facility and the Term Securities Lending Facility, allow the Fed to keep financial asset prices artificially inflated and subsidize poorly performing financial firms. The Federal Reserve Transparency Act would eliminate restrictions on GAO audits of the Federal Reserve and open Fed operations to enhanced scrutiny. We hear officials constantly lauding the benefits of transparency and especially bemoaning the opacity of the Fed, its monetary policy, and its funding facilities. By opening all Fed operations to a GAO audit and calling for such an audit to be completed by the end of 2010, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act would achieve much-needed transparency of the Federal Reserve. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Posted 03/03/09 09:25 AM KathyLatshaw BeaReady Smithville, OH

JBS has this up as an action item. Free and very easy to use their automated email system. They have a letter written and plenty of room to modify and make it your own. http://www.jbs.org/index.php/inflation-taxes-economy-blog/4569-support-h r-1207-to-audit-the-federal-reserve

Posted 03/03/09 10:23 AM Michael Salvi Elkins Park, PA

now THIS is a post i'm excited to read. awesome!

Posted 03/03/09 11:16 AM Hamlin Eddystone, PA

coolwise, thanks for the info. I learn something new here every day!

Posted 03/03/09 11:18 AM Average Jane Norfolk, VA

What is the best way to get the fliers out? put on doorknobs?

Posted 03/03/09 10:46 PM Caleb Kinley Hot Springs, AR

btw, on the reverse side of the fliers, make sure you write down the representatives contact information (for your state) so whomever you give a flier too will have the info handy and more prone to call if the info is right there.

Posted 03/04/09 9:04 PM Saratica Escazú, Costa Rica

Go to congress.org, type in your zip code on the right side, click Federal and go to town! Here's my letter: Please support H.R. 1207. It is high time we audited the Federal Reserve System! Since its creation in 1913, the Fed's control of money and credit in this country has resulted in a 95% devaluation of our dollar and the piling up, just in the last year, of almost $10 trillion in bailouts and loans. The Fed has so far refused to provide information on how it is spending the bailout money and currently dictates how accountable it will be to Congress. This must not be allowed to continue. How can a nation not be in charge of its own currency? Not know how its money is being spent? Would you run your household that way? Certainly not! H.R. 1207 has bipartisan support with 11 cosponsors from all across the country. In contrast to the massive "stimulus" package, Congressman Ron Paul's bill can be read in less than five minutes. It's long past time for the Fed's books to be opened. We can make it happen, and we can do it this year. Sincerely, Sally O'Boyle

Posted 03/05/09 7:07 PM ssurowiec Aberdeen, NJ

I've emailed all of my representatives about this, but sadly mine seem content to vote against bills that limit waste and only vote for bills that promote waste. For those looking for some additional reading on the fed I'd highly recommend Web of Debt by Ellen Hodgson Brown (ISBN-13: 978-0979560828)

Posted 03/07/09 10:21 PM TakingBackTheGOP Livermore, CA

THIS IS A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF H.R.1207! IT WILL BE UP FOR APPROVAL BY THE ALAMEDA COUNTY GOP ON MARCH 17TH! H.R. 1207 A BILL 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. Whereas, we, as Members of the Alameda County Republican Party applaud transparency and accountability in government and reject government secrecy involving monetary policy that impacts the entire economy; and Whereas, serious discussions of proposals to oversee and audit the Federal Reserve are long overdue; and Whereas, the Federal Reserve can enter into agreements with foreign governments and foreign central banks and the United States Congress is prohibited from overseeing these agreements; and Whereas, we, as Members of the Alameda County Republican Party, believe agreements made by the Federal Reserve with foreign powers and foreign banking institutions should be subject to Congressional oversight; and Whereas, the United States Constitution, gives the United States Congress the authority to coin Money and regulate the value thereof and does not give Congress the authority to delegate control over monetary policy to a central bank; and Whereas, auditing the Federal Reserve will allow Congress to assert its constitutional authority over monetary policy and help to protect the value of the United States dollar; Therefore, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Members of the Alameda County Republican Party, in defense of the United States Constitution, STRONGLY URGE the representatives of the 111th United States Congress to support the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009. http://www.alamedagop.org