Rand Paul: “I would just like to reemphasize that it is the responsibility of the Congress to commit to oversight of the Federal…”

“I would just like to reemphasize that it is the responsibility of the Congress to commit to oversight of the Federal Reserve, something that we have been derelict in doing. I think the mood of this House and the mood of the Senate and the mood of the country is more transparency and more oversight. The provision in the Senate version is not adequate for an audit of the Fed. So I am encouraged that we are getting more attention because, ultimately, it is necessary that we understand exactly how the business cycle comes about and how the Federal Reserve participates in this. Because, under the circumstances of today, on what we are doing, we are prolonging our agony. And someday I would hope to see that our recessions--and now we are talking about depressions--are minimized and shortened. And I am concerned that the programs that we are working with today are prolonging those changes. So the most important thing that we can do is make sure that we exert our responsibilities, have oversight of the Federal Reserve, commit to these audits of the Federal Reserve, and not to endorse the idea that the Federal Reserve is totally secret, can do what they want, can bail out other companies and banks and foreign governments and foreign central banks without fully knowing exactly what they are doing.”