On the recordSeptember 16, 2014
I thank the gentleman from North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my friend and colleague Congressman Paul Broun's Federal Reserve Transparency Act, otherwise known as ``Audit the Fed.'' Our mutual friend and predecessor, Congressman Ron Paul, first introduced this bill back in 1983. His often lonely voice and courageous efforts to shed light on the secretive and harmful actions of the Federal Reserve have finally paid off over 30 years later. In July of 2012, Congressman Paul's ``Audit the Fed'' bill passed the House of Representatives by an overwhelming vote of 327-98. Sadly, it has yet to receive a vote in the Senate. As Congressman Ron Paul stated here on the House floor in 2011, in words that remain current and relevant today in 2014: Throughout its nearly 100-year history, the Federal Reserve has presided over the near-complete destruction of the United States dollar. Since 1913, the dollar has lost over 98 percent of its purchasing power, aided and abetted by the Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy. How long will we as a Congress stand idly by while hardworking Americans see their savings eaten away by inflation? Only big spending politicians and politically favored bankers benefit from inflation. Since its inception, the Federal Reserve has always operated in the shadows, without sufficient scrutiny or oversight of its operations.…
