Bean should explain position on the Fed

On Feb. 26, 2009, HR 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and has subsequently been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

This resolution calls for a full and complete audit of the Federal Reserve, the institution that sets monetary policy impacting the entire U.S. economy. HR 1207 would mandate transparency and accountability for the monetary system and reveal the Fed's agreements with foreign central banks and foreign governments.

Since the inception of the Federal Reserve in 1913, the value of the U.S. Dollar has declined by 95 percent. With that in mind, it is hard to fathom how this unelected central bank could have the best interests of the American people in mind.

The Fed has doled out $9 trillion (according to the most conservative estimates) in loans and bailouts to unnamed banks and Wall Street firms and that number may reach as high as $23.7 trillion according to the Special Treasury Department Inspector General. It is no surprise then that a recent Rasmussen Reports survey suggests that 75 percent of Americans would favor auditing the Federal Reserve.

The bill to audit the Fed has vast bipartisan support including Democrats and Republicans who have indicated their support for this critically important legislation, but Congresswoman Melissa Bean, representing the 8th Congressional District, is not among the 282 co-sponsors of the bill.

Representative Bean is on the Financial Services Committee where HR 1207 now resides, so it would behoove her to explain her position on HR 1207 to her constituents in the 8th District. Clearly, her constituents deserve to know where the Congresswoman stands on an issue of such manifold importance.

Justin Kapacinskas

Des Plaines