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I don't know how legitimate this audit will be, but if all goes smoothly without corruption, this can be a game changer for the future of our world.
[h3]Senate Approves Audit of Federal Reserve[/h3]
After facing some early resistance from members within their ranks the US Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow a one-time audit of the Federal Reserve.
The 96-0 vote gives the government authorization to examine the central bank's emergency lending to financial institutions during the 2008 financial crisis.
"The Fed can no longer operate in the kind of secrecy that it has operated in forever," said Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT), the main author of the audit amendment.
Until yesterday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke tried to convince lawmakers that such a move wasn't necessary, insisting that all the bailout payments made to Wall Street firms, big banks, and auto companies were a legit use of tax-payer dollars.
Even as news of the audit broke, Bernanke was doing his best to show that the central bank had nothing to hide. He promised weekly reports on the deal the Fed is currently negotiating with the European Union to avoid a massive economic collapse in Europe.
The purpose of this audit is to attain more transparency with regard to the inner workings of the Fed. Lawmakers are looking for a more itemized assessment of spending, something they never received while handing trillions of taxpayer dollars.
"You already have an influence on the conduct of the Fed in terms of the transparency issues," said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT).
A proposal for a broader audit failed 62-37, with bipartisan opposition.
