Financial Privacy & Security News

“The reappointment of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offers Congress a critical opportunity to question him on important financial reform issues where the Fed has been a disappointment. First, why does the Fed oppose President Obama's proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which could reduce overall risk in the system by guaranteeing that products are safe?

"Second, over 280 members of the House of Representatives have called for greater transparency of the Fed by supporting H.R. 1207.  This legislation calls for an audit of the trillions of taxpayer-backed dollars invested big banks while average taxpayers lose their homes and their retirement savings. Research shows that 75% of Americans support auditing the Fed. It is unacceptable that taxpayers have no assurance that the very banks that nearly collapsed our economy returned bailout funds only to go behind the scenes and behind their backs to feed from the Federal Reserve.
 
"Third, if the Fed is even to be considered for a greater role in financial regulation, Congress should ask whether Chairman Bernanke will support actions to reduce the power of unelected bankers over the Fed by providing for democratic election of regional Fed bank board members and presidential selection of regional bank presidents?

"Taxpayers have been the blind, involuntary investors in a system supported by bankers, for bankers. Congress should use this opportunity to ask tough and necessary questions.”

# # #

U.S. PIRG, federation of state Public Interest Research Groups, is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization. For more information on U.S. PIRG’s campaign to reform the financial system, click here.