Can you answer any of these questions posed by other users? Think of it as a civic good deed. See 2 more questions posed on this topic or submit your own question on the Q&A page.

Answered by a visitor on Aug 6, 2009 7:34 PM - The original purpose of the Federal Reserve was to insulate the regulation of the financial sector from the fluctuations of Congress as much as possible; it was felt that strict Congressional oversight would compromise that distinction.

Answered by a visitor on Aug 2, 2009 1:04 PM - The GAO is prohibited by law from auditing the Federal Reserve's books for one reason and one reason only, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke explained this to the general public as "...being exempt from political influence...". Political influence is a very broad definition, and can encompass a multitude of variables and factors. Of course, political influence is a relative term. If you want to understand what this means, think of political influence as a function of what your particular interest is politically, and you will come to the conclusion that political influence is essentially each individual's own personal interest, not nationally, but globally. What this means is that the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 specifically places restrictions on the oversight of its actions irregardless of the will of the general populace nationally, or globally. This is the definition of "exempt from political influence".

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Answered by a visitor on Oct 9, 2009 12:11 PM - In general, one of the ideas of creating the Fed was for it to be an independent entity so that politics would not get involved in monetary policy.

Answered by a visitor on Nov 13, 2009 2:22 PM - You make a very good point- the only difference is that certain Fed activities are EXEMPT from audit, by law- an audit bill passed in the 70s exempted the very items that S 604 is trying to allow for an audit.

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