WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) today voted in favor of a bill that would increase oversight of the Federal Reserve System, but it fell seven votes short of the sixty necessary to proceed.

The Federal Reserve Transparency Act (S. 2232), introduced by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit the Fed within one year of enactment and to report its findings to Congress. 

“Just as the American people have a right to have their say in our nation’s lawmaking process, they have a right to see the Fed’s full balance sheet. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats today blocked us from authorizing a full and complete audit that would have given government watchdogs more access in an effort to bring more transparency to the Fed,” Boozman said.

Boozman, a cosponsor of S. 2232, said this oversight is necessary in light of the expansion of the Fed’s authorities after the last financial crisis.

“The Obama Administration’s inappropriate response to the financial crisis was to bury our community banks under volumes of new regulations created by Dodd-Frank and give even more power to the Fed. The Fed needs more oversight, not more authority. It is imperative that Congress diligently monitor the Fed and hold it accountable for its actions,” Boozman said.