Political Quotes

“Madam President, you have heard me say many times to my colleagues that the public's business ought to be public. I don't know why that does not apply to the Federal Reserve, at least on its regulatory activities when it gives out money. There are all kinds of reasons it should not apply to monetary policy. But for everything else, the Federal Reserve is acting at the behest of Congress through a law going way back to 1913 giving them certain powers. If Congress exercised these same powers--and under the Constitution we have the authority to do that--it would be the public's business; in fact, even more than what this amendment does. So the public's business ought to be public. With transparency, and that is what this amendment is all about, you get accountability--it seems to me, with what has happened over the last 10 years, more transparency leading to accountability. If we had that transparency we probably would not have had the bubble in the first place that broke in 2008, which brought us to this recession. So I rise not hesitantly but forthrightly to support the pending amendment by the Senator from Vermont. I appreciate all of his hard work on making the Federal Reserve more accountable to the people of this country. I am a cosponsor of his stand-alone bill, so I am glad to be a cosponsor of this amendment, to bring sunshine to the Fed. During the last 2\1/2\ years, the Fed has gone well beyond what was viewed as its historical authority.…”