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The SPOTLIGHT 
April 8, 1991

LEGISLATION WOULD MANDATE FIRST FED AUDIT
By Michael Collins Piper

Fighting populist Rep. Phil Crane (R-Ill.) has once again introduced legislation which - if enacted - would mandate the first-ever congressionally supervised audit of the privately owned Federal Reserve System's money monopoly. The new Fed audit bill introduced by Crane is numbered H.R. 1468. His fellow sponsor is Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.).

Crane and Shays are not interested in the number of pencils and paper clips the Fed uses each year. Those are the kind of things determined each year by the Fed's own in-house audit. Instead, the two lawmakers want to find out how the Fed makes its secret monetary decisions affecting America's future, and, perhaps more importantly, which foreign governments have bought U.S. treasury bills-thereby assuming control over the fate of this nation.

Formally, H.R. 1468 is described as "A bill to authorize and direct the General Accounting Office (GAO) to audit the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Advisory Council, the Federal Open Market Committee, and the Federal Reserve banks and their branches. This bill has been referred to the House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, which is chaired by another prominent Fed critic, Rep. Henry Gonzales (D-Texa).

WRITE AND/OR CALL

Liberty Lobby Board of Policy Chairman Vince Ryan is asking that board members and regular SPOTLIGHT subscribers write and/or call their congressmen and urge that they sign on as co-sponsors of this legislation. Ryan also suggests that if they have not already written or called on behalf of another Fed audit bill(H.R. 1130), introduced by Reps. Buron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.), they do so immediately.

(A sample letter endorsing both measures appears on this page. Also appearing is a complete listing of House Banking Committee members.) You may write your congressmen in care of the House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515 or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3124.

"Our drive to audit the Fed is under way," said Ryan. "Our previous efforts on behalf of winning co-sponsors for this legislation proved highly effective, and now we've got some momentum. We've got to push forward."

In submitting his legislation Crane said: "Americans continue to enjoy the freedoms of democracy and strive to maintain a government beholden to its citizens. One way lawmakers have ensured government accountability is through GAO audits. While almost every federal agency undergoes and annual audit, there is one that remains conspicuously immune-the Federal Reserve. Since 1913, the Federal Reserve Board has been empowered to carry out functions crucial to our system of government and to our nations economy. It also has been exempt from a GAO audit. This exemption has been abused and often is has proved injurious."

UNHEALTHY SUSPICION

Fed decisions remain a secret. This secrecy has bred an unhealthy suspicion among American investors. Some years ago, in fact, there were reports of people using their voice stress analyzers on a speech given by Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. The anxious financiers hoped that upcoming Fed decisions might be revealed through the chairman's vocal patterns. Unfortunately the only thing their efforts did uncover was the mystery surrounding Fed Operations. One of these operations involves selling treasury bills to other nations. For three-quarters of a century, the Fed has brokered $286 billion in U.S. debt to foreign governments, but not one penny of these sales is reported to the American people.

Safeguarded from an audit, Greenspan and his colleagues can issue our debt to whomever they please, and then call the transaction 'classified.' Clearly this privilege elicits legitimate concerns for our national security. Americans should not depend on mysticism to monitor the Federal Reserve, nor should they be suspicious of its policies. They should benefit instead from a fully accountable central bank. According to Ryan: "Congressmen Cran and Shays are on the right side of what is a very controversial issue. They deserve all the support that members of Liberty Lobby and readers of The SPOTLIGHT can provide them.

HERE'S WHAT TO SAY.....

Illustrated below is a sample letter postcard that you can send to your congressman urging him to co-sponsor Fed audit-and-reform legislation.

Your Name
Street
City, State, Zip

Honorable ____________________________
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Rep. ____________________________,

Please sign on as a co-sponsor of the following related measures mandating a congressionally supervised audit and basic reforms of the Federal Reserve System:

* The Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1991 (H.R. 1130) introduced by Reps. Byron Drogan(D-N.D.) and Lee Hamilton(D-Ind.); and

* H.R. 1468 introduced by Reps. Philip M. Crane(R-Ill.) and Christopher Shays(R-Conn.).

These are important measures which deserve your support.

Please contact me as soon as possible and let me know whether or not you will co-sponsor this legislation.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

(signature)

WHEN YOUR CONGRESSMAN RESPONDS.....

If you have contacted your congressman and urged that he support one or both of the Fed audit bills (H.R. 1130 and H.R. 1468) and have received a response, please send a copy of this communication to Liberty Lobby's Legislative Department.

This way a full record of congressional responses to your calls and letters can be maintained for the use of The SPOTLIGHT's editorial staff and the Liberty Lobby legislative staff. Please send copies of the congressional responses to Liberty Lobby, 300 Independence Ave. SE Washington, D.C. 20003.

Note: Due to the volume of mail received on a regular basis, individual acknowledgements to your submissions will not be provided, unless specific questions are addressed regarding the congressional response.

 

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