An Open Letter to the House of Reps. on HR 1207 in the Washington Times

[galtgulch]

>>"An Open Letter to the House of Reps. on HR 1207 in the Washington Times / Already has 134 cosponsors!

Posted by Anthony Gregory on 05/06/09

Last updated 05/06/09

In tomorrow's edition of the Washington Times (May 7, 2009), the Campaign for Liberty has taken out a wonderful ad — an open letter urging representatives to cosponsor Ron Paul's Federal Reserve Transparency Act (HR 1207), signed by an unprecedentedly diverse coalition of individuals, activists, political organizations and citizen groups, all of whom join us in demanding that Congress finally shine a light on the secretive Federal Reserve System.

This beautiful open letter will appear most prominently on page A5. Everybody in the Beltway — Representatives, Senators, staffers and opinion makers on the hill — reads the Times, especially when Congress is in session, and so we can expect them all to see this.

Given this wonderful placement and the climate in which we find ourselves, with Paul's bill already enjoying more than 120 cosponsors, this letter, unlike most political open letters, has the real potential to rock DC and make history. Seeing through the Fed is the first step to regaining our monetary freedom and therefore constitutional government, and so this effort is truly a revolutionary one. Thanks to everyone who helped.

It will look particularly impressive in the paper, and I hope to post an image when it comes out. Below is the text and list of supporters, to give an idea of what Washington, DC, will be waking up to tomorow morning:

An Open Letter to the U.S. House of Representatives

05/07/2009

Dear Representative,

We, the undersigned organizations representing millions of Americans, encourage you to cosponsor H.R. 1207, “The Federal Reserve Transparency Act,” which would eliminate the restrictions on U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits of the Federal Reserve.

Since its inception, the Federal Reserve has operated without sufficient transparency or accountability to the American people. In fact, current law specifically excludes the Fed from a thorough audit or real congressional oversight. No government agency has such an utter lack of sunshine.

The Federal Reserve has created and dispersed trillions of dollars in response to our current financial crisis. Americans across the nation, regardless of their opinion on the bailouts, want to know where that money has gone and exactly how much has been spent.

H.R. 1207 would open up the Fed’s funding facilities, such as the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, Term Securities Lending Facility, and Term Asset-Backed Securities Lending Facility to congressional oversight.

Additionally, audits could include discount window operations, open market operations, and agreements with foreign central banks, such as the ongoing dollar swap operations with European central banks.

By opening all Fed operations to a GAO audit and calling for such an audit to be completed by the end of 2010, H.R. 1207 would achieve much-needed transparency of the Federal Reserve.

Campaign for Liberty

FreedomWorks

Center for Fiscal Accountability

at Americans for Tax Reform

Project On Government Oversight (POGO)

Council for Citizens Against

Government Waste (CCAGW)

The Rutherford Institute

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)

Common Cause

Velvet Revolution

Justice Through Music

International Association of Whistleblowers

Alliance for Patient Safety

U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation

iSolon.org

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

Citizens for Sunshine

DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

No FEAR Coalition

Marcus Epstein, The American Cause

The Multiracial Activist

Deborah Owens, Ph.D., Board Member, Buckeye Institute

Citizens for Health

Progressive Librarians Guild

Government Accountability

Project (GAP)

OpenTheGovernment.org

Citizen Outreach

National Coalition of Organized Women

OMB Watch

Public Citizen

Whistleblower Support Fund

U.S. Public Interest Research Group

IowaTransparency.org

The Harbour League

Republican Liberty Caucus

Changing Hearts Foundation

The Constitution Party

Neighborhood Economic

Development Advocacy Project

Westchester Residential Opportunities

Eagle Forum-AZ

Democrats.com

AfterDowningStreet

Rand Paul,Kentucky Taxpayers United

American Policy Center

A New Way Forward

Defending Dissent Foundation

Pain Relief Network

Earth Intelligence Network

Institute for Transparent Government

JustHealth

Liberty Coalition

Kentucky Progress

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation

Utah Center-Right Coalition

Florida Center-Right Coalition

Pennsylvania Center-Right Coalition

Ethan Allen Institute

American Service Council

Public Interest Institute

Shane Osborn, Nebraska State Treasurer

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Inc.

Green Party of the United States

National Taxpayers Union

Young Americans for Liberty

We urge you to join over 120 of your colleagues in supporting H.R. 1207’s historic call for transparency and to do all in your power to achieve a floor vote in the House."<<<

www.campaignforliberty.com 7May 5AM 151,261, 4PM 151,330

Edited May 7, 2009 by galtgulch

[galtgulch]

I attended the first day of the annual meeting of the Mass Medical Society where I met several doctors whom I have befriended over my years there.

In my conversations with them I made them aware of a few things we hadn't spoken about before and thought I would share with you for reasons which will become apparent.

I told a couple of them separately the story about how there were colonists who had become indebted because they had borrowed gold coins and signed contracts to repay in gold. After Independence was won in 1781 the colonies became sovereign states and in several of them the debtors pressed the state legislators to create paper currency and to pass a law allowing the contracts to read that they may repay their loans in paper rather than gold.

This prompted their creditors to convene a Constitutional Convention which created a federal government over the states, with limited powers enumerated in Article 1 Section 8 which included the power to coin money of gold and silver, and in Article 1 Section 10 said that No state shall: "make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts."

I was impressed how that story enabled each of them to understand so much about our government, our Constitution, our money, the importance of restoring the gold standard and limiting our government.

I also explained how only certain powers, so called enumerated powers, were granted to this new federal government, spelled out in Article 1 Section 8 which ends with the necessary and proper clause which said that Congress shall have Power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing powers and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any Department of Officer thereof. I pointed out how our politicians interpret this widely to enable them to simply do whatever they please rather than limit their lawmaking to the powers explicitly granted in the Constitution.

I also pointed out how Obama said that although the government had nothing to do with causing our current crisis, that the government is the only entity which can resolve it. I heard him say that myself and it is untrue. The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 forced banks to offer loans to people who did not meet the ordinary standards set for mortgages. This act of the government may have been well intentioned but coupled with the Federal Reserve making credit available through the fractional reserve banking system set up the country for the current crisis. The solution is not to add more currency to the market as the Federal Reserve is doing.

I find that ordinary people are able to understand such matters clearly and for the most part are among what I hope are the vast majority of our people. The trouble is that these issues, if they were taught at all by the schools, need only to be refreshed in our present day. I should think that once aware and given the desperate state of affairs faced by so many in our economy that such knowledge will take root and lead to them making more reasoned decisions when they come to vote for their representatives.

www.campaignforliberty.com 151,339; 8May 151466, 151526; 9May 151618 and growing. Once there were only 40 campus groups involved in this movement now that number exceeds 125 campuses. To paraphrase Arlo Guthrie in the old anti war song Alice's Restaurant, "They will think its a movement!"

gulch

Edited May 9, 2009 by galtgulch

[Selene]

Gulch:

Good job with taking advantage of a group where you had high ethos [credibility].

Well all us group W benchers get up and sing!

"And friends, somewhere in Washington enshrined in some little folder, is a

study in black and white of my fingerprints. And the only reason I'm

singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar

situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in a

situation like that there's only one thing you can do and that's walk into

the shrink wherever you are ,just walk in say 'Shrink, You can get

anything you want, at Alice's restaurant.'. And walk out. You know, if

one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and

they won't take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony,

they may think they're both faggots and they won't take either of them.

And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in

singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an

organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said

fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and

walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.

And that's what it is , the Alice's Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, and

all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it come's around on the

guitar.

With feeling. So we'll wait for it to come around on the guitar, here and

sing it when it does. Here it comes.

You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant [excepting Alice!] << one of his ad-libs

You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant

Walk right in it's around the back

Just a half a mile from the railroad track

You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant

Adam

Edited May 8, 2009 by Selene

[galtgulch]

There are presently 143 cosponsors of HR1207 the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009.

Although that is an unusually large number of cosponsors there is no guarantee that HR 1207 will come out of committee where it is at the moment, nor that it will get the number of votes on the floor of the Congress it would need to pass.

That is why those who seek its implementation, if only to satisfy a citizen's justifiable curiosity to see where the trillions of dollars the Fed created went!

The Federal Reserve has survived embedded in a cloak of awed secrecy akin to the most revered religious rituals of various brotherhoods throughout the ages. Virtually no one ever asked what it is that they do or how they do it. To have revealed what it is up to has been said by the very chairman of the Federal Reserve to be "counterproductive."

We are no longer privy to even the official count of the number of dollars which are in circulation, which used to be revealed in the number M3 which is no longer mentioned beyond its inner sanctum.

If you want to know whether your own congressman has endorsed and cosponsored HR1207 see if his or her name is listed you might find it on this google map:

http://tinyurl.com/puy3pc

An easy way to email your congressman and your senators simultaneously is at www.DownsizeDC.org and click on Campaigns on the menu bar. Then scroll down to the AUDIT the Fed link.

Join the rest of us who do so often:

www.campaignforliberty.com 9May 1PM 151649 and growing. Just join us and let others know what we are up to and that this movement exists and will not stop until we outnumber them!

gulch

[Selene]

Gulch:

This is a worthy effort, I have folks working on their respective federal crooks.

Ok, so you are only 75 short. I am going to track it now on one of my sights.

Of the 143, how many are Democrats, if you know?

And your point about the Federal Reserve is the real golden rule, the man with the gold makes the rules.

Adam

[Selene]

Great little web site folks:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1207

H.R. 1207:

111th Congress

This is a bill in the U.S. Congress originating in the House of Representatives ("H.R."). A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate and then be signed by the President before it becomes law.

Bill numbers restart from 1 every two years. Each two-year cycle is called a session of Congress. This bill was created in the 111th Congress, in 2009-2010.

The titles of bills are written by the bill's sponsor and are a part of the legislation itself. GovTrack does not editorialize bill summaries.

2009-2010

Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009

To amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes.

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See H.R. 1207 on THOMAS for the official source of information on this bill or resolution.

Overview

Sponsor:

Rep. Ronald Paul [R-TX]show cosponsors (143)

Cosponsors [as of 2009-05-08]

Rep. Jeff Miller [R-FL]

Rep. Lynn Jenkins [R-KS]

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland [R-GA]

Rep. Shelley Capito [R-WV]

Rep. Roy Blunt [R-MO]

Rep. Robert Aderholt [R-AL]

Rep. Dean Heller [R-NV]

Rep. Peter Sessions [R-TX]

Rep. Bill Posey [R-FL]

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers [R-WA]

Rep. Frederick Upton [R-MI]

Rep. Paul Broun [R-GA]

Rep. Nathan Deal [R-GA]

Rep. Lamar Smith [R-TX]

Rep. Judy Biggert [R-IL]

Rep. Glenn Thompson [R-PA]

Rep. Michael Simpson [R-ID]

Rep. Tom Price [R-GA]

Rep. Walter Jones [R-NC]

Rep. John Culberson [R-TX]

Rep. George Radanovich [R-CA]

Rep. John Linder [R-GA]

Rep. Greg Walden [R-OR]

Rep. Jason Chaffetz [R-UT]

Rep. Brett Guthrie [R-KY]

Rep. Pete Olson [R-TX]

Rep. John Gingrey [R-GA]

Rep. Kevin McCarthy [R-CA]

Rep. Randy Neugebauer [R-TX]

Rep. Geoff Davis [R-KY]

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin [D-SD]

Rep. Robert Goodlatte [R-VA]

Rep. Mary Fallin [R-OK]

Rep. John Fleming [R-LA]

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R-FL]

Rep. Adam Smith [D-WA]

Rep. Candice Miller [R-MI]

Rep. Clifford Stearns [R-FL]

Rep. Ralph Hall [R-TX]

Rep. Tom Cole [R-OK]

Rep. Adrian Smith [R-NE]

Rep. Walter Herger [R-CA]

Rep. Joe Barton [R-TX]

Rep. John Duncan [R-TN]

Rep. Henry Brown [R-SC]

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter [R-MI]

Rep. Bill Cassidy [R-LA]

Rep. John Boozman [R-AR]

Rep. Patrick Tiberi [R-OH]

Rep. Michael Michaud [D-ME]

Rep. William Shuster [R-PA]

Rep. Michael Burgess [R-TX]

Rep. Thomas Rooney [R-FL]

Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN]

Rep. John McHugh [R-NY]

Rep. James Sensenbrenner [R-WI]

Rep. Rob Bishop [R-UT]

Rep. Ted Poe [R-TX]

Rep. Addison Wilson [R-SC]

Rep. Gus Bilirakis [R-FL]

Rep. Todd Tiahrt [R-KS]

Rep. Sue Myrick [R-NC]

Rep. Tim Murphy [R-PA]

Rep. Dan Burton [R-IN]

Rep. Tom McClintock [R-CA]

Rep. James McDermott [D-WA]

Rep. John Shimkus [R-IL]

Rep. Collin Peterson [D-MN]

Rep. Spencer Bachus [R-AL]

Rep. Steven LaTourette [R-OH]

Rep. John Kline [R-MN]

Rep. Ander Crenshaw [R-FL]

Rep. Fortney Stark [D-CA]

Rep. Samuel Johnson [R-TX]

Rep. Charles Dent [R-PA]

Rep. Rodney Alexander [R-LA]

Rep. John Carter [R-TX]

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett [R-MD]

Rep. Erik Paulsen [R-MN]

Rep. Dennis Rehberg [R-MT]

Rep. Alan Grayson [D-FL]

Rep. Ken Calvert [R-CA]

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher [R-CA]

Rep. Neil Abercrombie [D-HI]

Rep. Mary Bono Mack [R-CA]

Rep. Samuel Graves [R-MO]

Rep. Gene Taylor [D-MS]

Rep. Michele Bachmann [R-MN]

Rep. Lynn Woolsey [D-CA]

Rep. Michael Castle [R-DE]

Rep. Brian Bilbray [R-CA]

Rep. Michael Conaway [R-TX]

Rep. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI]

Rep. Steve Kagen [D-WI]

Rep. Lee Terry [R-NE]

Rep. Joseph Pitts [R-PA]

Rep. Jeb Hensarling [R-TX]

Rep. John Shadegg [R-AZ]

Rep. Aaron Schock [R-IL]

Rep. Lloyd Doggett [D-TX]

Rep. Janice Schakowsky [D-IL]

Rep. Thomas Latham [R-IA]

Rep. Cynthia Lummis [R-WY]

Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D-OH]

Rep. Virginia Foxx [R-NC]

Rep. Stephen Buyer [R-IN]

Rep. Jerry Moran [R-KS]

Rep. Adam Putnam [R-FL]

Rep. Patrick Mchenry [R-NC]

Rep. Timothy Johnson [R-IL]

Rep. Frank Lucas [R-OK]

Rep. Zach Wamp [R-TN]

Rep. Steve Austria [R-OH]

Rep. Vern Buchanan [R-FL]

Rep. Frank LoBiondo [R-NJ]

Rep. Todd Akin [R-MO]

Rep. Daniel Lungren [R-CA]

Rep. Jack Kingston [R-GA]

Rep. Donald Young [R-AK]

Rep. Bob Inglis [R-SC]

Rep. Scott Garrett [R-NJ]

Rep. David Roe [R-TN]

Rep. Thomas Petri [R-WI]

Rep. Vernon Ehlers [R-MI]

Rep. John Adler [D-NJ]

Rep. James Barrett [R-SC]

Rep. Marsha Blackburn [R-TN]

Rep. Mike Pence [R-IN]

Rep. Louis Gohmert [R-TX]

Rep. Eric Massa [D-NY]

Rep. Peter Hoekstra [R-MI]

Rep. Kevin Brady [R-TX]

Rep. Michael McCaul [R-TX]

Rep. Trent Franks [R-AZ]

Rep. Todd Platts [R-PA]

Rep. Kay Granger [R-TX]

Rep. John Campbell [R-CA]

Rep. Peter DeFazio [D-OR]

Rep. Doug Lamborn [R-CO]

Rep. Rob Wittman [R-VA]

Rep. Donald Manzullo [R-IL]

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer [R-MO]

Rep. Kenny Marchant [R-TX]

Cosponsorship information sometimes is out of date. Why?

Text:

Summary | Full Text

Status:

Occurred: Introduced Feb 26, 2009

Occurred: Referred to Committee View Committee Assignments

Not Yet Occurred: Reported by Committee ...

Not Yet Occurred: Voted on in House ...

Not Yet Occurred: Voted on in Senate ...

Not Yet Occurred: Signed by President ...

This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee. [Last Updated: May 8, 2009 8:25AM]

Last Action:

Feb 26, 2009: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Related:

See the Related Legislation page for other bills related to this one and a list of subject terms that have been applied to this bill. Sometimes the text of one bill or resolution is incorporated into another, and in those cases the original bill or resolution, as it would appear here, would seem to be abandoned.

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Apr 20, 2009 8:27 PM - How does HR 1207 differ from HR 1349, The Federal Accountability and Oversight Board of 2009? HR 1349 has Bernanke acting as the Chairman and Secretary Geithner, as a board member, which sounds like a conflict of interest. - Read Answers

Answered by a visitor on Apr 21, 2009 3:55 PM - 1207 and 1349 are very very very different.

1207 takes out a line from the original Federal Reserve Act that bars the U.S. Government from performing an audit on that specific private bank.

1349 establishes a new government bureaucracy to conduct economic oversight over other federalized government bureaucracies.

1349 is just more government. It actually puts parts of the Federal Reserve system in charge of the oversight of the rest of the federal government. In essence, a private monetary dictator will oversee our federal system.

Answered by a visitor on Apr 28, 2009 5:43 PM - Most of the fiscally motivated regulations passed in the past year have featured immunities or exemptions to the FED, including (Sec.135) the $700 billion bank bailout. Will 1207 address past injustices as well?

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Apr 29, 2009 10:03 AM - Will the new powers instated in the Office of the Comptroller General allow that body to audit (physically) the gold held by the Federal Reserve? - Read Answers

Answered by a visitor on Apr 30, 2009 7:19 PM - Theoretically, yes. A thorough audit of, "Financial Institutions Examination Council, the Federal Reserve Board, Federal reserve banks, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision," as stipulated by current USC Section 714 Title 31, and "the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve banks" specifically chosen to be audited in the proposed amendments of HR 1207, would included an accounting of all assets and liabilities currently owned the Federal Reserve Board and the several Federal Reserve banks. All transactions, contracts, and agreements, including discount window and open market operations would similarly be exposed.

Answered by a visitor on May 8, 2009 6:41 PM - The reserve part may just denote Fractional reserve banking. As the Federal reserve is neither owned federally, nor does it have any real money reserves. The name Federal Reserve was to make it seem that they where the actual federal Governments reserve bank, which in fact it is not.

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GovTrack.us. H.R. 1207--111th Congress (2009): Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, GovTrack.us (database of federal legislation) <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1207> (accessed May 9, 2009)

{{cite web

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|title=H.R. 1207

|accessdate=May 9, 2009

|author=111th Congress (2009)

|date=Feb 26, 2009

|work=Legislation

|publisher=GovTrack.us

|quote=Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009

}}

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