On November 19, the House Financial Services Committee advanced a bill that calls for the General Accounting Office to conduct a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve by the end of 2010.

A 43-26 committee vote rejected a substitute proposal offered by North Carolina Democrat Mel Watt. Its provisions would have sanctioned retention of the long-standing ban against congressional scrutiny of the Fed’s monetary policies.

Despite opposition from committee chairman Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the measure written by Texas Republican Ron Paul survived its first test. Success came because of 313 House cosponsors and a huge outpouring of citizen backing. Yet Frank claimed that the proposed audit would “be seen as weakening the independence of monetary policy with consequent negative implications.”

Frank’s opinion has regularly been buttressed by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke who urgently favors retention of the Fed’s independence. Practically all opponents of the Paul measure pointed to the need for the Fed to continue operating without oversight. Former Fed research specialist Michael Feroli, now an economist with JPMorgan Chase, urged the Fed to “do whatever it takes to stop this from going forward and eroding confidence in the Fed’s independence.”

But it is precisely a loss of confidence in the Fed that has generated unprecedented support for opening up the central bank’s books and supplying the American people with heretofore hidden information. The Fed certainly had a role in bringing on the current economic downturn. Chairman Bernanke’s refusal to answer questions about the Fed’s role has added more muscle to the growing demand for scrutinizing the Fed’s books. If the Fed has nothing to hide, detractors ask, why do its leaders and supporters fear scrutiny?

Should the measure gain full House and Senate approval and a presidential signature (surely steep hills to climb!), the Fed will have to bare details about its emergency lending programs, bailouts of financial institutions, dealings with like institutions in foreign capitals, and the process it employs in setting interest rates. Chairman Frank has sought to calm the fears of Fed supporters by indicating that the Paul measure will be “revisited” when the full House considers the bill. Piggybacking the measure onto another bill, such as the proposed Financial Stability Improvement Act, might be one tactic to undo it. Without doubt, roadblocks will be erected to gut the bill, and the big guns seeking to preserve the Fed’s vaunted “independence” will surely be trotted out as the measure proceeds through the legislative process.

Few supporters of our nation’s central bank care to note that the creation of the Federal Reserve parallels a call in Marx’s Communist Manifesto for “centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.” The Fed was actually pushed toward creation in 1913 by President Wilson’s powerful and manipulative guru, Edward Mandell House, who earlier had written of his desire for “Socialism as dreamed of by Karl Marx.”

But note that Marx sought a central bank “in the hands of the state.” Those who created the Fed in 1913 went a huge step further and made it a private institution free of congressional scrutiny. Fed creators actually out-Marxed Marx by shielding it from examination. The result? Under its management, U.S. currency has lost 95 percent of its value, a trend that continues. The American people are being cleverly divested of their wealth. And power over what happens in our nation sits more with the Fed than it does with Congress. The American people need to know what the Fed has done and continues to do.

Congressman Paul has also introduced a measure to abolish the Federal Reserve outright. His recently published bestseller End the Fed provides reasons why management of the nation’s economy should be terminated, fiat currency should be discarded, and commodity money reestablished. His efforts over many years, long considered extreme or even absurd by the establishment, have attracted enormous popular support as evidenced by the audit measure’s 313 cosponsors.

What will happen as the audit bill moves through the congressional process is unknown. But the awakening of a large number of Americans to the secrecy and power of the Fed should already be considered a stunning victory for Constitution-minded Americans.

Ron Paul Addresses John Birch Society
thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/409

Congressman Ron Paul endorses The John Birch Society

ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?132355-Congressman-Ron-Paul-endorses-The-John-Birch-Society

Dr. Ron Paul, Texas congressman and 2008 Republican presidential candidate, was the featured speaker Saturday evening, October 4 on the final day of the John Birch Society’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. The topic of his keynote address was “Restoring the Republic: Lessons From a Presidential Campaign,” in which he lectured the audience on how our republic can be restored with groups such as the John Birch Society (JBS) and his own Campaign for Liberty leading the way.

During his introduction, JBS President John McManus explained that Dr. Paul was known as “Dr. No” on Capitol Hill because he had voted against so much unconstitutional legislation over the years. When Dr. Paul took the podium, he said that his wife had reassured him that it was okay to have that nickname, as long as everyone understood that it was spelled with a “K”!

Dr. Paul made evident his affection for the JBS by stating at the outset, “I am delighted to help celebrate this birthday.” And when he moved on to talk about his first successful campaign for Congress in 1976, he said, “I’m sure there are people in this room who probably helped me in that campaign, because I know that so many of you have over the years.” He then described his first press conference at the Capitol Hill Club, during which an antagonist from Houston asked him, “Mr. Paul, are you a member of the John Birch Society? Have you ever been a member of the John Birch Society?”

Dr. Paul recalled his response: “No, I am not a member of the John Birch Society but many members of the John Birch Society are friends of mine and they have been very helpful in my campaign.”

In reviewing his 2008 presidential campaign, Dr. Paul stated that he was reluctant to run in the primaries, despite being urged by many to do so, because he did not feel that enough preparatory work had been done. But he was surprised to see the response at the rallies, especially from the young people. He gave credit to the JBS for keeping alive the freedom fight through its programs to educate and motivate the American people. He went on to point out that the JBS had planted a lot of seeds over the years and that his presidential campaign was able to tap into the sentiment that sprouted from those efforts.

Not only were Dr. Paul’s campaign rallies bigger and more positive than he had expected, but he marveled at the varied background of his supporters, who came from all parts of the political spectrum. From this, he concluded that freedom is popular and brings people together. The antithesis of freedom is big government, which causes people to divide into groups and to fight against each other for a bigger share of the pie, or to push the burden of government from one group onto another.

Throughout his speech, Dr. Paul kept referring to “the remnant,” which he described as those who remember and respect the values upon which the United States was founded: self-reliance, personal responsibility, limited government, sound money, the gold standard, etc. He claimed that the important role the JBS has played was to nurture that remnant and added, “The remnant holds the truth together, both the religious truth and the political truth.”

As the eldest presidential candidate, Dr. Paul was curious to find out why so many young people were joining his campaign. The most frequent responses he got ranged from the very general, “It sounded like you were the only one telling the truth” (which wasn’t real reassuring!) to the more specific, “I liked it when you talked about the Constitution.” Dr. Paul was encouraged by that because it meant that a new generation would keep alive the values of “the remnant” and continue the freedom fight. Young people believe that Social Security will not be there for them because they understand how the system works, which was why “End the Fed!” was the most oft-heard chant at his rallies.

Being a Fed gadfly, it was not surprising that Dr. Paul spent some time discussing the recent financial crisis and bailout. He found no satisfaction in seeing many of his forecasts coming true, but it has allowed him to get more face time on television news shows. Pundits challenged his opposition to the bailout with statements such as, “Surely you can’t believe that we should do nothing.” Dr. Paul’s response was that the federal government should return to sound money and lower taxes, and take more care in regulating the regulators. He pointed out that we got into this mess because of too much government spending, too much debt, too much inflation, and too much regulation. Now we are being told that the solution is more of the same!

Dr. Paul recalled the hugely successful Rally for the Republic in Minneapolis and the JBS presence there, with President John McManus as one of the featured speakers. He also complimented the JBS on the big turnout at their anniversary celebration, pointedly mentioning that several extra rooms had been set up to accommodate the overflow crowd. He exhorted the audience to “continue what you have been doing,” and concluded with, “I come with a positive message and congratulations to you for all you have done. Congratulations and thank you very much for having me tonight.”

Congressman Ron Paul endorses The John Birch Society; congratulates Society in its 50th year

APPLETON, WIS. — April 4, 2008 — Congressman Ron Paul has endorsed The John Birch Society in a statement received from his office this week. His statement also congratulates the Society on being “a great patriotic organization” now in its 50th year.

John McManus, president of JBS, responded, “We graciously accept Dr. Paul’s endorsement. He continues to demonstrate what an elected official should be doing … obeying the Constitution. We thank him for his continuous commitment to protect the freedoms of all Americans. There’s a reason why he consistently rates toward the top of the Freedom Index, our Congressional scorecard rating legislators’ votes published twice a year in The New American magazine.”

Dr. Paul stated, “The John Birch Society is a great patriotic organization featuring an educational program solidly based on constitutional principles. I congratulate the Society in this, its 50th year. I wish them continued success and endorse their untiring efforts to foster ‘less government, more responsibility … and with God’s help … a better world.’”

Dr. Paul has also agreed to be the keynote speaker at the Society’s 50th anniversary celebration, Oct. 2-5, in Appleton.

Now in its 50th year, the John Birch Society, headquartered in Appleton, Wis., is dedicated to restoring and preserving freedom under the U.S. Constitution. Members come from all walks of life and are active throughout the 50 states on local, regional and national issues. United by a strong belief in personal freedom and limited government, plus a sense of duty, members have played a continuous, pivotal role in halting legislation and federal policies that threaten the independence of our country and the freedom of American citizens. Visit www.JBS.org for more information and see why JBS continues to fulfill its founder’s vision of “less government, more responsibility, and … with God’s help … a better world.”

XXX

Bill Hahn
Public Relations Manager
The John Birch Society

Overview of America (JBS)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_boAGNPmNQ