Braley Works to Bring Accountability to the Federal Reserve System

Press Release

Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today continued his efforts to bring accountability to the Federal Reserve System by signing on as a cosponsor to the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2013. This legislation calls for an extensive audit of the Federal Reserve System.

"This bill is a bipartisan, common-sense solution to make sure that there is transparency and accountability within the Federal Reserve and I'm proud to be a cosponsor.

"We look to the Federal Reserve to provide guidance on the stability of our economy, and as taxpayers we deserve to know that the Fed is handling its responsibilities in a fair and public way. Ensuring that the Federal Reserve undergoes an extensive audit is one way to make this happen."

The Federal Reserve Transparency Act would ensure that the Fed is held to the same reporting standards as the rest of the federal government. It would require full audit of the Fed by eliminating restrictions that prevent the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress' investigative arm, from fully examining the Federal Reserve.

Currently, the Fed's monetary policy operations are exempt from audit, and subsequently from effective Congressional oversight. This means that GAO is prohibited from examining the Fed's discount window and open market operations, agreements with foreign governments and central banks, and transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

In July 2012, the legislation passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 327-98, but was never voted on in the Senate. Braley was a cosponsor of the bill and voted in for it.

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