Dr. Ron Paul Takes Over Chair of Domestic Monetary Policy, Including Fed Oversight
Today it’s been announced that Congressman Dr. Ron Paul (R-TX) will become Chairman of the Domestic Monetary Policy House Subcommittee in 2011. If ever the US could benefit from a turning point in monetary policy it’s now. This is one of Congress’ most relevant entities for supervising that work, as a component of the overall House Financial Services Committee, the Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology Subcommittee oversees:
- the Federal Reserve’s efforts to carry on its regular responsibilities, including bank examinations, consumer protection and data collection
- the testimony of the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
- Emergency Authority, including the Fed’s efforts to withdraw the extraordinary monetary stimulus it provided and reduce its balance sheet
- the state of US coins and currency, including examining the roles of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, US Mint, Federal Reserve, and Secret Service
- audits of the Federal Reserve, or whatever is left of that possibility, based on the final version of the signed Dodd-Frank Act
Perhaps no congressman is more actively — or famously — engaged in the task of changing the current trends in monetary policy than Dr. Ron Paul, author of “End the Fed,” and a studied critic of how the US manages its money supply. He sees monetary reform as an eventual necessity and the dollar as unable to indefinitely operate as the reserve standard for the world.
As of today, it looks like he’s going to get his best chance to date.
This past Tuesday, the House of Representatives’ Republican leadership chose Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) to serve as head of the House Financial Services Committee. Today, Bachus announced his appointments for the 112th Congress’ financial services committee leadership, including Dr. Paul.
It’s expected that Dr. Paul will make increased efforts to examine the Fed’s monetary policy decisions, open up more of the Fed’s interest rates and monetary easing deliberations to congressional scrutiny, and take a closer look at the US role in global economic coordination, especially the sort that takes place through the International Monetary Fund.
In his official statement, Bachus says:
“This is the leadership team that crafted the first comprehensive financial reform bill to put an end to the bailouts, wind down the taxpayer funding of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and enforce a strong audit of the Federal Reserve.”
For better or worse, we’ll keep you posted on where Bachus, Paul, and the rest of the new Financial Services Committee leadership takes it from here.
Best,
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