County Council calls for national audit of U.S. Federal Reserve bank

The St. Charles County Council approved a resolution on Feb. 25 that supports a Missouri representative’s proposal to audit the Federal Reserve. As the nation’s central banking system — or the “banker’s bank” — the Federal Reserve manages the country’s money supply and its policies affect interest rates, bank policies, and business financial decisions.

St. Charles County Council member Joe Brazil (Defiance) sponsored the resolution supporting Missouri Says Audit the Federal Reserve, a proposal before the Missouri House of Representatives. He said that the county government undergoes financial audits and he believes the national bank should, also.

“We audit every department,” Brazil said.  “We do our due diligence. It’s our obligation to the taxpayer. This makes complete sense of me.”

He said he hopes the council’s action “puts a little bit of influence over Jeff City and then Jeff City sends a little bit of that influence over to the federal government.”

Last fall Missouri Representative Paul Curtman (R, District 105, Pacific) sponsored bill HCR 9, urging the U.S. Congress to pass the Federal Reserve Transparency Act. That act was introduced in 2009 and reintroduced last year.  That act had bi-partisan support and if passed would create a complete audit of the bank.

Curtman’s bill states “the Federal Reserve and the United States Treasury have levied the burden of debt on the American taxpayer to the degree of several trillion dollars.”

The resolution goes on to say that an audit of the Federal Reserve “for the first time in its history would provide answers to the American people about how our money is spent, where our money is spent, and at what cost to the people.”

Curtman’s bill has been assigned to the Missouri Committee on Financial Institutions and is currently awaiting a hearing.

Representatives Doug Funderbunk (R, District 12, whose district includes part of St. Charles County) and Kurt Bahr (R, District 102, O’Fallon) are two of the 43 co-sponsors of the bill.