[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 24, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H5140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    LET'S AUDIT THE FEDERAL RESERVE

  (Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DeFAZIO. In 1989, I sponsored a bill, along with 11 other 
Democrats, to audit the Federal Reserve.
  The Wall Street Journal wrote an editorial saying we would destroy 
the American economy if we audited the Federal Reserve. Well, guess 
what? Eighteen years later, Wall Street destroyed the economy of the 
United States of America--Wall Street, the big banks--and then they 
were bailed out secretly by the Federal Reserve. We don't know how many 
trillions of dollars the Federal Reserve committed to them. We know 
their profits were billions, tens of billions on the bailout they got. 
So it's past time to audit the Federal Reserve.
  Today we'll take up a bill, finally, Ron Paul's bill, to audit the 
Reserve. I strongly support it.
  I also urge Members to support my bill, which would establish 
conflict-of-interest rules for the Federal Reserve and take the two-
thirds of the Federal Reserve that is controlled by Wall Street banks, 
take those people off the board and put citizen representatives who 
represent the taxpayers and the consumers of the United States, not the 
big banks, on that board.

                          ____________________