Audit the Fed? Bernanke fights back against Ron Paul
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at 06:11PM 
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- In what is likely to be the last showdown between Ron Paul and Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman once again fought back against the Congressman's calls to audit the Federal Reserve.
Rep. Paul, a Republican from Texas and author of "End the Fed", has been trying for years to pass a law that would give Congress the ability to examine the central bank's decision-making process.
Now, he's closer than ever before, after his colleagues voted last month to finally take up his bill on the House floor. The vote is expected to happen next week.
It's important though not to confuse the aim of the bill with a financial audit. The Federal Reserve's finances are already audited every year by an independent accounting firm. (Last year it was Deloitte and Touche). The central bank also publishes its balance sheet every Thursday online.
Instead, what Paul is aiming for is a full investigation of the way the Fed determines monetary policy.
Those deliberations currently take place behind closed doors. Minutes are released with a three-week lag, and full transcripts are published only five years after the fact.
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