Banks Repaid Fed Bailout With Other Fed Money: Government Report

In the aftermath of the 2008 meltdown, way back at the beginning of Obama's administration, financial reform had strong bipartisan support. The original DoddFrank Bill contained a provision for regular audits to the end the secrecy of the Federal Reserve, introduced in the House by Grayson andRonPaul with strong support from BernieSanders and JimDeMint on the Senate side. However, the amendment was opposed not only by WallStreet and the FederalReserve, but by Obama so strenuously that he threatened to veto the entire DoddFrank bill if the audit was included. That amendment failed and a second one was crafted for the one time audit which was just as adamantly opposed by Obama.

Obama Opposed Auditing the Federal Reserve

The Senate will decide whether or not to follow the House's lead and adopt a provision requiring government auditors to open up the books at the FederalReserve. The measure enjoys a great deal of popularity on both the left and the right, but is so fiercely opposed by powerful interests that it could nonetheless become a stumbling block in the way of financial regulatory legislation.

BernieSanders is trying to round up 60 or more votes to overcome a likely filibuster and include an "audit the Fed" provision in the Senate's bill. There are just a few small obstacles: the WhiteHouse, major financial institutions, and the Fed itself. Their resistance is fierce--but the measure is so popular that killing it will be difficult for them and that, in their eyes, threatens to put a grenade at the center of efforts to to tighten the rules on WallStreet. 

That's why, according to the WallStreetJournal they'll "fight to stop it at all costs." The WhiteHouse is hoping to cut off "audit the Fed" in the Senate, so that they'll have a stronger hand when House and Senate negotiators meet to iron out the differences between their regulatory reform bills. If the Senate bill doesn't include Sanders' amendment, then the House will be in a weak position vis-a-vis the Senate and WhiteHouse and the provision could be easily stripped.

If Sanders prevails, then the WhiteHouse will be all but out of options and Obama will likely be left with the choice of vetoing the legislation, or signing it and raising the ire of very powerful people.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost