During consideration of a continuing appropriations resolution (H.R. 7463), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to prohibit the Federal Reserve from creating an emergency lending program or facility that purchases or sells the debt of any state or municipality.
The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on February 29, 2024 by a vote of 37 to 53 (Roll Call 63). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because this amendment would have been a step toward ultimately abolishing the unconstitutional Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve is the largest domestic holder of U.S. public debt, which has surpassed $36 trillion. It had already caused much damage to our nation’s economy, through its inflationary policies and issuance of fiat currency, prior to its announcement during Covid-19 that it would also be willing to buy or sell the debt of state and local governments. According to Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, only Congress has the power to “coin Money” and “regulate the Value thereof.” Moreover, Article I, Section 10 specifies that “No State” shall “make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.”
