Cynthia Lummis

Washington, Jul 24, 2012 -

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo) spoke on the House floor Tuesday in support of H.R. 459, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act. The bipartisan bill aims to carry out a full audit of the Federal Reserve, the nation’s central banking system. Central to H.R. 459 is the removal of previous restrictions placed on the Government Accounting Office (GAO) regarding audits of the Federal Reserve. Should the legislation earn both House and Senate approval, it will mark the first full accounting of the agency to date.

After the 2008 financial crisis the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet tripled in size to $3 trillion, or 20% of the national economy. The Fed also transacted over $16 trillion in loans throughout the crisis - an amount surpassing the entire U.S. economy.

The following remarks are from Rep. Lummis' floor statement:

“Congress retained oversight responsibility and Congress should insist on an accurate accounting of the Fed so members of Congress can better understand monetary policy... When the Feds cumulative lending hits the size and scope to be greater than the entire GDP of the United States it’s past time for Congress to insist on transparency.”