How did Audit the Fed amendment get through a dysfunctional Congress?

(The echo goes away after about 20 seconds.)
Matt Stoller, former staff member for Representative Alan Grayson and writer for Naked Capitalism, talks to Cenk about the behind-the-scenes effort that was needed to include an Audit the Fed amendment in the 2009 financial reform bill, which Congress passed into law.

This long interview provides well-informed insight into the operation of Congress, how legislation is made, and the political process in general. Matt Stoller has been involved in progressive politics in a variety of roles. He writes for www.nakedcapitalism.com and is currently the political correspondent for the TV show BrandX with Russell Brand, which airs Thursday nights on FX.

This is a really interesting interview, it's definitely worth watching the full thing. It breaks down how the Audit of the fed (2009) got passed with Ron Paul & Alyan Grayson teaming up and gaining support of each party. It was just nice to get insight on how our politicians are only puppets of the banks if they want to be.

reply to post by RealSpoke


Matt Stoller is an interesting guy. He has a blog here:Naked Capitalism

The system is rigged, not by any big conspiracy but by too many self serving people with the power to make things happen... things that benefit them.

reply to post by RealSpoke


thought I'd add that its interesting at about the 43 minute marke he talks about how the staffers are the real forces behind the way the members of congress vote. Those guys wield the real power...

reply to post by Mike.Ockizard


Well the staffer is the person that would meet with you or a lobbiest and has direct access to the congress person so I guess it makes sense.

I wish more on ATS would watch this though.

I worked for a local union in the 80's and lobbied in the state capital and D.C. always took flowers and took a staffer to lunch. You could find out how your congress person thinks and feels on an issues and if they would even consider supporting your issue, because they all smile and lie to your face.
Like anything in life, you got to know what your dealing with before you can address any problem.
The better success the bigger the gift next time a bottle of booze , some sports tickets. Staffers are cheaper than the boss and sometimes they know more.

The issue I lobbyed against was the monitoring bill , you know where your boss can listen in on calls made on company phones will your at work. It didn't go well as we all know.

It hasn't gotten through, yet. I see it passing the House, but not the Senate. If it passes the Senate, we'll see if it gets past Obama. But I'm pretty sure it won't even land on his desk.

/TOA

reply to post by The Old American


This interview isn't about Ron Pauls bill. It is about an Amendment to another bill that was sponsored by Paul and Grayson. The fed was already audited because of this, just not to the depth that HR 1027 is trying to accomplish currently.

Amendment to Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009 (HR 3996)

On November 19, 2009, the Committee on Financial Services approved the Paul-Grayson amendment to the Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009 (H.R. 3996). The amendment includes many provisions of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, including removing GAO audit restrictions and allowing a more complete audit of the Federal Reserve, including reviewing various policies and agreements with foreign entities.[15][16] It was passed by in a 43-26 vote, with bipartisan support despite opposition from former supporter and Committee Chairman Barney Frank. The amendment was also opposed by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and others from the Obama administration.[15]

en.wikipedia.org...