TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Political Discussion / Debate
-- HR 1207 : Federal Reserve Transparency Act 2009
Pages (22): [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 »

HR 1207 : Federal Reserve Transparency Act 2009

For Immediate Release
June 11, 2009

Audit the Fed Bill Reaches Crucial Benchmark

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Ron Paul's Federal Reserve Transparency Act, HR 1207, has reached and surpassed the level of 218 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, which means it is now cosponsored by a majority of the members.

The 218th cosponsor was Dennis Kucinich (OH-10), and the bill has since received its 222nd cosponsor. *(223 now)*

�The tremendous grass-roots and bipartisan support in Congress for HR 1207 is an indicator of how mainstream America is fed up with Fed secrecy,� said Congressman Paul. �I look forward to this issue receiving greater public exposure.�

Hearings on Federal Reserve transparency are expected within the next month, as part of the Financial Services Committee's series of hearings on regulatory reform.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/pres...aul/audit.shtml


H.R. 1207:
111th Congress

Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009

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.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1207



Financial Rescue Nears GDP as Pledges Top $12.8 Trillion (Update1)

By Mark Pittman and Bob Ivry

March 31 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have spent, lent or committed $12.8 trillion, an amount that approaches the value of everything produced in the country last year, to stem the longest recession since the 1930s.

New pledges from the Fed, the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. include $1 trillion for the Public-Private Investment Program, designed to help investors buy distressed loans and other assets from U.S. banks. The money works out to $42,105 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. and 14 times the $899.8 billion of currency in circulation. The nation�s gross domestic product was $14.2 trillion in 2008......

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?...id=armOzfkwtCA4


--------------------

This should have started long ago, especially after the disappearance of M3 index publishing but with recklessness like this a bill that adds some transparency to the Fed is long overdue. Still a long way to go.

this will change absolutely nothing. it certainly wouldn't have prevented the fed's activities in the wake of the recession. its populist nonsense that will resonate with voters and have absolutely no effect on the role or decisions of the fed.

the only reason ron paul is obsessed with the fed is because he doesn't understand anything about economics. the fed is audited regularly and their minutes are published for all to see.

much ado about nothing, but i do enjoy watching the usual suspects popping in from time to time to parade their ignorance.

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN this will change absolutely nothing. it certainly wouldn't have prevented the fed's activities in the wake of the recession. its populist nonsense that will resonate with voters and have absolutely no effect on the role or decisions of the fed. the only reason ron paul is obsessed with the fed is because he doesn't understand anything about economics. the fed is audited regularly and their minutes are published for all to see. much ado about nothing, but i do enjoy watching the usual suspects popping in from time to time to parade their ignorance.

i agree - moreover, unlike other "parts" of the government (which we all know is only partial true because it is independent from the government) the fed actually makes money (34 billion in 2007). congress (and the legislative branch), on the other hand, costs about 4.3 billion a year to operate (the senate and the house each cost about 1 billion a year to operate).

http://www.federalreserve.gov/board...getrev/br08.pdf

http://washminster.blogspot.com/200...n-congress.html

The fed has never been properly audited pk.

This could be a beautiful thing for the markets if some of the shit they've been pulling comes to light (chaotic, but beautiful).

Fed Would Be Shut Down If It Were Audited, Expert Says

The person in charge of investigating the fed's currently books has no clue of the losses they are taking from the various bailouts over the past 2 years, and doesn't want to disclose any of the recipients of **$9 TRILLION** in off-book "loans" they have made since last September..



I for one would like to know the names of those benefitting from all this money printing..

Transparency in and reduced secrecy in Washington. How can you oppose that pk?

quote:

Originally posted by Capitalizt The fed has never been properly audited pk. This could be a beautiful thing for the markets if some of the shit they've been pulling comes to light (chaotic, but beautiful). Fed Would Be Shut Down If It Were Audited, Expert Says The person in charge of investigating the fed's currently books has no clue of the losses they are taking from the various bailouts over the past 2 years, and doesn't want to disclose any of the recipients of **$9 TRILLION** in off-book "loans" they have made since last September.. I for one would like to know the names of those benefitting from all this money printing.. Transparency in and reduced secrecy in Washington. How can you oppose that pk?

sure - transparency is great, but when all is said and done it won't change anything.

that interviewer was obnoxious. how many times did the woman need to say she was still doing a review.

pssh... I thought you'd know better jerz.. It's all smoke and mirrors with these people and always has been. Those names will never be released, nor will any other detailed records of the fed's dealings unless an audit is done. That's why this legislation is needed. Will it result in a change in government/fed policy? Unlikely..but at least the veil will be lifted slightly which will hopefully cause more people to take an interest in these issues.

Section 5 of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 states that the Federal Reserve Banks are owned, through stock issuance, by private member banks.

Who the fuck does the FED think they are handing out Trillions of dollars with out ever being fucking audited.

Audit the fucking fuck out of the fuct up Federal Reserve from 2000-2009 and lets see where the fuck all this fucking money is fucking going.

quote:

Originally posted by we_R_DNA Section 5 of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 states that the Federal Reserve Banks are owned, through stock issuance, by private member banks. Who the fuck does the FED think they are handing out Trillions of dollars with out ever being fucking audited. Audit the fucking fuck out of the fuct up Federal Reserve from 2000-2009 and lets see where the fuck all this fucking money is fucking going.

The Federal Reserve is like a giant credit union. All depositors ARE MEMBER SHAREHOLDERS. So, no shit, private MEMBER banks own shares of the Federal Reserve. They have to if they are to partake in business with the Fed, or just simply operate in some cases.

quote:

Originally posted by Capitalizt with these people

Phrases like this confound me.

quote:

Originally posted by Capitalizt pssh... I thought you'd know better jerz.. It's all smoke and mirrors with these people and always has been. Those names will never be released, nor will any other detailed records of the fed's dealings unless an audit is done. That's why this legislation is needed. Will it result in a change in government/fed policy? Unlikely..but at least the veil will be lifted slightly which will hopefully cause more people to take an interest in these issues.

that wasn't the point. i hate when people say the same shit over and over again and expect different answers. clearly she wasn't going to say anything.

quote:

Originally posted by we_R_DNA Who the fuck does the FED think they are handing out Trillions of dollars with out ever being fucking audited.

whatever you say man

quote:

Periodic Reviews and Examinations All Federal Reserve Banks and branches, like commercial depository institutions, are audited and examined regularly. Internal audits are conducted by a permanent audit staff at each Reserve Bank. Each audit staff is headed by a general auditor who reports directly to the Bank's board of directors. In addition, a private CPA firm conducts an annual examination of each Reserve Bank and its branches on behalf of the Federal Reserve Board. External audits were instituted in recent years in place of annual examinations by the Board of Governors to ensure total independence in this process. Operations at each Federal Reserve Bank also are subject to review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the audit arm of the U.S. Congress. However, GAO auditors are restricted by law from reviewing monetary policy operations and transactions carried out by the Federal Reserve on behalf of foreign central banks. This restriction was imposed by Congress to assure the independence of the Federal Reserve from political influence. The Scope of Audits The scope and frequency of audits are based on the specific risk factors inherent in each Bank's operations, including the nature of the activities it conducts, the prevailing level of controls surrounding these activities, and the quality and experience of the individuals assigned to the operation. Internal audits at each Reserve Bank involve verification of assets, liabilities, and items held in custody. Auditors check both the physical presence of these items and the timely and accurate reporting of their movement. An evaluation of the adequacy of controls throughout the Bank and of compliance with prescribed procedures also is done. Audits are performed periodically in order to determine if the auditors' perceptions of prevailing risk levels and operating conditions since the last review remain valid. Periodic audits also help to determine whether previously identified problems and issues were adequately addressed and remedied, and to ascertain whether new problems or issues have emerged. Although auditing procedures differ among the 12 Reserve Banks, their emphases are broadly similar. At the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the audit staff reviews the cash, check, fiscal, electronic payments, and accounting areas, and all of the service and professional operations (which include legal, bank supervision and regulation, and research and statistics). It also audits centralized electronic data processing operations and automated systems under development. These audits consist of reviews of the Bank's data centers, with primary emphasis on environmental software products, including data base systems, operating systems, and data communications systems. Auditors evaluate the strength of internal controls and security of each software product, as well as the procedures and controls put in place by the organizational unit responsible for it. An auditor at the Buffalo Branch reviews activities there. Audits of automated systems under development similarly concentrate on the adequacy of controls and security. These audits are intended to ensure that appropriate checks and balances are in place for each automated processing operation. Audit teams check the accuracy of records pertaining to transactions that flow through the system and certify that systems under development are fully and adequately tested before being placed into production. Together with two other departments of the Bank, the audit staff controls activities in the Bank's gold vault, which stores about one-quarter of the world's official gold reserves. Auditors monitor all gold transactions, both deposits and withdrawals, and independently verify accounting records and balances pertaining to gold held in custody by the Bank.

http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthef...oint/fed35.html

im sure you could have found that out by yourself if you actually had a committment to finding out how the fed works, rather than beating your chest with nonsense talking points.

quote:

im sure you could have found that out by yourself if you actually had a committment to finding out how the fed works, rather than beating your chest with nonsense talking points.

Judging by the number of people who agree with this bill obviously what ever audits that have been taking place are not doing the job.

Scrutinize them just like anyone else. Put them under the microscope and if nothing comes out of it then so be it.

With money comes power, with power comes corruption. The public deserves to know.

quote:

Originally posted by culorut Judging by the number of people who agree with this bill obviously what ever audits that have been taking place are not doing the job.

the country (and to a fair extent, the world) is in the throes of a very anti-banking mentality, and rightfully so. of course this will be popular with politicians who wouldn't want to be seen against something that sounds all responsible and awesome.

this is what i don't get about you culorut. you constantly (and i mean constantly) decry the great evils of the corrupt government, the hacks in congress and the senate that have been bought off by corporations and their lobbyists, that the US fundamentals of government are being controlled by shadowy, powerful forces.

and then right here you're arguing that consent by these same malign forces is somehow decent and good.

quote:

Originally posted by culorut Scrutinize them just like anyone else. Put them under the microscope and if nothing comes out of it then so be it.

absolutely nothing will change. nothing. there is nothing that the federal does or did during the depths of the crisis that would have been prevented by this bill, and there is little . sure, pass it if it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but D-res' non sequitur in the first post is what im referring to specifically.

quote:

Originally posted by culorut With money comes power, with power comes corruption. The public deserves to know.

the public does know. while there might be some clarification of everything that is going on during this special time in economic history, there is nothing that the fed routinely does that isn't public knowledge. all these kooks like ron paul can find out everything they need know by reading the fed's reports and minutes.

you guys dont understand what the fed does, which is why you try to weave conspiracies about it. the whole reason the fed i supposed to be an independent branch of government (even though it is regularly fucking audited for crying out loud) is so that political issues don't have undue influence on the setting of monetary policy.

its truly funny to see you guys asking for MORE government regulation from a bunch of government officials you constantly complain about.

there may have been some misteps by the fed that will come to light when their actions can be judged effectively, but most of what they have done is public record and this legislation will change exactly nothing, other than giving politicians more ability to waste time in areas most of them are ill-equipped to judge.

Auditing the Federal Reserve is a step in the right direction to abolishing it all together.

I'd prefer the Congress or the Treasury to make the currency.

The federal reserve is not that open and I do not think many would be aware that private banks are that involved in what appears to be a government entity.

The members are not accountable to voters either.

If anyone has the names of the member banks, I would appreciate a link. I think they are JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citigroup.

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN the public does know. while there might be some clarification of everything that is going on during this special time in economic history, there is nothing that the fed routinely does that isn't public knowledge. all these kooks like ron paul can find out everything they need know by reading the fed's reports and minutes. you guys dont understand what the fed does, which is why you try to weave conspiracies about it. the whole reason the fed i supposed to be an independent branch of government (even though it is regularly fucking audited for crying out loud) is so that political issues don't have undue influence on the setting of monetary policy. its truly funny to see you guys asking for MORE government regulation from a bunch of government officials you constantly complain about.

I don't have much to say that wasn't said very well right here. Spot on.

Funny that pkc and I are the libertarians arguing for less government intervention on this issue, eh?

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN this will change absolutely nothing. it certainly wouldn't have prevented the fed's activities in the wake of the recession. its populist nonsense that will resonate with voters and have absolutely no effect on the role or decisions of the fed. the only reason ron paul is obsessed with the fed is because he doesn't understand anything about economics. the fed is audited regularly and their minutes are published for all to see. much ado about nothing, but i do enjoy watching the usual suspects popping in from time to time to parade their ignorance.

+1

The Fed is very open but people are generally to lazy to read any of the material.

For instance, check out the new Z1 report which tallies US indebtedness sector by sector:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/Current/

quote:

Originally posted by Capitalizt I for one would like to know the names of those benefitting from all this money printing.. Transparency in and reduced secrecy in Washington. How can you oppose that pk?

Not so much opposing as being indeferent too. One negative to the initiative is that it could be taking resources away from where they might actually be needed, like in figuring out how to get companies, municipalities, states, and individuals out of debt.

I think the list of loans made under both TALF and TARP are in the public domain, it wouldn't take long to find them if you really cared (i do not at this point).

Another no brainer about who 'wins' when the US prints money is everyone who owes money in US$ and everyone who holds currency other than US$ and also sees things they want in the US. I'd be going on a buying spree if my bank account were full of CN$ this summer but it's not full and I really don't see much that I'd want to buy from the US right now. Maybe I'll do some online shopping in the next couple of months, that way I won't have to risk getting caught in the riots that are sure to break out

quote:

Originally posted by culorut Judging by the number of people who agree with this bill obviously what ever audits that have been taking place are not doing the job.

Public opinion is not a barometer of the functioning of a financial system. Public opinion can be swayed by ignorance, arrogance, apathy, and lazyness. Public opinion by and large doesn't represent an informed opinion.

For example, some people will say:

quote:

Scrutinize them just like anyone else. Put them under the microscope and if nothing comes out of it then so be it. With money comes power, with power comes corruption. The public deserves to know.

Because they are either ignorant of the current auditing procetures, arrogant enough to think they couldn't be wrong because they might have accolades in some other feild, or too lazy to look up what the current auditing procedures are.

The unfortunate truth is that auditing and tranceparency are accounting issues and accounting issues are pretty boring. So when getting down to actually fixing some of these things, all interest is lost.

quote:

Originally posted by thedoggyworld The federal reserve is not that open and I do not think many would be aware that private banks are that involved in what appears to be a government entity. The members are not accountable to voters either. If anyone has the names of the member banks, I would appreciate a link. I think they are JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citigroup.

Just do a search for banks that are over about 10 billion and they will probably be member banks.

I'm pretty sick of people saying the fed isn't open. That really shows a level of ignorance that is boarderline irresponsible when commenting on issues like this.

The fed publishes a lot. If you don't read it then it is hardly the fed's openness that is in question.

Most recently I've been able to comment on some of the issues they are considering (Dec. 2008) only to have the concerns brought up in thier meeting, documented in the Financial Times report on the release of the meetings minutes (Jan 2009) and later reafirmed by Greenspan in an article of his in March 2009.

I've also been in contact with one of the economists there who quite quickly responded vis a vis a paper of his.

These are marks of a fairly open institution that is willing to feild comments from the global public.

I don't beleive they are acting naferiously for any party. I get the feeling that the group approaches problems with integrity and a sense of responsibility while doing some amount of work to engage and consider even very different view points.

Don't bother arguing with me about this, just go to the fed site and start reading.

quote:

Originally posted by atbell Public opinion is not a barometer of the functioning of a financial system. Public opinion can be swayed by ignorance, arrogance, apathy, and lazyness. Public opinion by and large doesn't represent an informed opinion. For example, some people will say: Because they are either ignorant of the current auditing procetures, arrogant enough to think they couldn't be wrong because they might have accolades in some other feild, or too lazy to look up what the current auditing procedures are. The unfortunate truth is that auditing and tranceparency are accounting issues and accounting issues are pretty boring. So when getting down to actually fixing some of these things, all interest is lost.

Wait are you trying to convince me that a private company who takes a huge percentage of monies from the people should not be scrutinized?

Go ahead and bend over if you like that. I rather check further into what is going on.

quote:

Originally posted by thedoggyworld Auditing the Federal Reserve is a step in the right direction to abolishing it all together. I'd prefer the Congress or the Treasury to make the currency.

So you want politicians with political motives to control the money supply? Ridiculous.

quote:

The federal reserve is not that open and I do not think many would be aware that private banks are that involved in what appears to be a government entity.

It is a public-private partnership. For you to use your bank, you must have an account with them don't you? As with a credit union, you must be a member to have an account. So why would you expect the commercials banks and the Federal Reserve to be any different?

quote:

The members are not accountable to voters either.

You'r right, they'r accountable to their regulators and shareholders. Why should they be accountable to voters if banks aren't "elected" to anything?

Citigroup executives run the company into the ground and need government help. Don't you think the shareholder's would be up in arms? Of course, and they did. The CEO, gone. Board of directors, gone. FIRED. That's accountability for you.

quote:

Originally posted by culorut Wait are you trying to convince me that a private company who takes a huge percentage of monies from the people should not be scrutinized? Go ahead and bend over if you like that. I rather check further into what is going on.

Are you trying to convince us that the same "mob" you call sheep, under the thumb of a secret cabal of bankers, are competent in deciding issues of monetary policy and central banking? I bet you if you were to go out in the street and ask people, "What is the Federal Reserve?", half of them wouldn't know what the fuck you were talking about. Yet, you want them to make decisions they are not informed about, nor, care about for that matter...

quote:

Originally posted by Krypton Are you trying to convince us that the same "mob" you call sheep, under the thumb of a secret cabal of bankers, are competent in deciding issues of monetary policy and central banking? I bet you if you were to go out in the street and ask people, "What is the Federal Reserve?", half of them wouldn't know what the fuck you were talking about. Yet, you want them to make decisions they are not informed about, nor, care about for that matter...

Oh, a big +1 here...

quote:

Originally posted by Krypton Citigroup executives run the company into the ground and need government help. Don't you think the shareholder's would be up in arms? Of course, and they did. The CEO, gone. Board of directors, gone. FIRED. That's accountability for you.

Actually, if you're talking about Chuck Prince in 2007, he "retired" and Pandit took over. Not too much of the board has changed, either.

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.