WSJ: Ron Paul Calls for Delay in Bernanke Confirmation

By Jon Hilsenrath | WSJ

In a letter they will send to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd this afternoon, Reps. Ron Paul (R., Tex.) and Alan Grayson (D., Fla.) will ask that the Senate hold off on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s confirmation hearing until the central bank releases more information about its rescues. ( Read the full letter.)

It is up to the Senate and not the House to confirm the Fed chairman, and the congressmen’s letter might not carry much weight in the neighboring chamber. Still, it is a sign of the potentially hostile environment Mr. Bernanke could face when he returns to Congress in the weeks ahead to defend his policies in confirmation hearings. Mr. Paul has won broad support in the House for a bill that would subject the Fed to audits by Congress’s Government Accountability Office.

The lawmakers offer a long list of disclosure demands, including a call for more information on which financial firms have received emergency Fed loans in the past year and transcripts of Federal Open Market Committee meetings up to June 2009. Transcripts are released with a five year league. The Fed has resisted calls for information about firms receiving its loans for fear it will stigmatize them in markets and make them and others reluctant to turn to the central bank in a time of crisis.

Both congressmen have been sharp critics of the Fed.

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