The Federal Reserve Transparency Act (S. 2232) would “require a full audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve banks by the Comptroller General of the United States,” according to the text of the bill. “I think that it’s about time we pull back the curtain to uncover this cloak of secrecy once and for all,” Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the bill’s sponsor, noted.
The Senate did not vote on S. 2232 itself but on a motion to invoke cloture (and thus limit debate) so the bill could come up for a vote. The motion to invoke cloture was rejected on January 12, 2016 by a vote of 53 to 44 (Roll Call 2; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Federal Reserve system, essentially a cartel of private banks functioning as a central bank, is unconstitutional and is responsible for much of the nation’s current financial problems via its control of money and credit. An audit of the Fed would shed light on its otherwise secretive practices and perhaps lead to its eventual abolishment.
