Rand's Fed audit scares Yellen

Republican senators, Democrats and the public are increasingly behind Sen. Rand Paul's effort to audit the Federal Reserve.

But Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will fiercely defend the central bank's freedom to set interest rates and conduct monetary policy without congressional oversight, which Paul's legislation seeks to accomplish.

The Kentucky Republican this week reintroduced his bill to require the Government Accountability Office to perform a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve and report on it to Congress.

The bill has 30 co-sponsors, ranging from the Establishment in Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to the grassroots in Ted Cruz of Texas. It also has support from liberals critical of the nexus between Washington and Wall Street.

While officials at the Fed and monetary policy experts generally strongly recommend against it, the vast majority of the public favor opening up the central bank’s books.

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