Paul Introduces Legislation Requiring Congressional Approval of Treasury Gold Dealings

Le Metropole Members,

The following dispatch was just sent to me by Norman Singleton, Congressmen Ron Paul's Legislative Aide. Next week The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee will begin an all-out campaign to build support for this bill throughout Congress. That can be done by contacting members of Congress and advising them of the importance of this issue, etc. More on that to come.

http://www.house.gov/paul/press/press2002/pr021402.htm

Paul Introduces Legislation Requiring
Congressional Approval of Treasury Gold Dealings

Washington, DC: Congressman Ron Paul of Texas this week introduced legislation designed to curb the ability of the President or the Treasury Secretary to manipulate worldwide gold prices. The "Monetary Freedom and Accountability Act" restores proper congressional authority over gold policy by requiring that body to vote its approval before the President or Secretary buys or sells gold.

"The Constitution grants authority over monetary policy specifically to Congress alone, not to the executive or the administration," Paul stated. "Yet Congress has neglected its duty for decades, and now our foolish fiat money system is run without challenge exclusively by unelected Treasury and Fed bureaucrats. As a result, the Treasury has been able to engage in the buying and selling of gold to manipulate the worldwide market price. Gold is very important to markets and investors in America and across the globe, and Congress should not allow the administration to interfere in the gold
market behind closed doors."

The private Gold Antitrust Action Committee held a press conference this week to discuss federal manipulation of gold markets. The group has uncovered evidence suggesting that the Federal Reserve and the Treasury department, operating through the Exchange-Stabilization fund and in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, have been systematically working to deflate the price of gold. Because rising gold prices are seen by investors as a barometer of inflation, the Fed has purportedly suppressed prices to disguise the true nature of the financial bubble of the 1990s.

"The Fed wants all of us to think the stock market is not overvalued, and that credit and monetary expansion can create lasting prosperity," Paul concluded. "My bill will make it harder for the Fed and the Treasury to manipulate gold prices, which should always serve as an unbiased indicator of the true health of world markets."

Congressman Ron Paul U.S. House of Representatives February 14, 2002

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Monetary Freedom and Accountability Act. This simple bill takes a step toward restoring Congress' constitutional authority over U.S. monetary policy by requiring congressional approval before the President or the Treasury secretary buys or sells gold.

Federal dealings in the gold market have the potential to seriously disrupt the free market by either artificially inflating or deflating the price of gold. Given gold's importance to America's (and the world's) monetary system, any federal interference in the gold market will have ripple effects through the entire economy. For example, if the government were to intervene to artificially lower the price of gold, the result would be to hide the true effects of an inflationary policy until the damage was too severe to remain out of the public eye.

By artificially deflating the price of gold, federal intervention in the gold market can reduce the values of private gold holdings, adversely affecting millions of investors. These investors rely on their gold holdings to protect them from the effects of our misguided fiat currency system. Federal dealings in gold can also adversely affect those countries with large gold mines, many of which are currently ravished by extreme poverty. Mr. Speaker, restoring a vibrant gold market could do more than any foreign aid program to restore economic growth to those areas.

While the Treasury denies it is dealing in gold, the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) has uncovered evidence suggesting that the Federal Reserve and the Treasury, operating through the Exchange-Stabilization Fund and in cooperation with major banks and the International Monetary Fund, have been interfering in the gold market with the goal of lowering the price of gold. The purpose of this policy has been to disguise the true effects of the monetary bubble responsible for the artificial prosperity of the 1990s, and to protect the politically-powerful banks that are heavy invested in gold derivatives. GATA believes federal actions to drive down the price of gold help protect the profits of these banks at the expense of investors, consumers, and taxpayers around the world.

GATA has also produced evidence that American officials are involved in gold transactions. Alan Greenspan himself referred to the federal government's power to manipulate the price of gold at hearings before the House Banking Committee and the Senate Agricultural Committee in July, 1998: "Nor can private counterparts restrict supplies of gold, another commodity whose derivatives are often traded over-the-counter, where central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities should the price rise." [Emphasis added].

Mr. Speaker, in order to allow my colleagues to learn more about this issue, I am enclosing "All that Glitters is Not Gold" by Kelly Patricia O'Meara, an investigative reporter from Insight magazine. This article explains in detail GATA's allegations of federal involvement in the gold market.

Mr. Speaker, while I certainly share GATA's concerns over the effects of federal dealings in the gold market, my bill in no way interferes with the ability of the federal government to buy or sell gold. It simply requires that before the executive branch engages in such transactions, Congress has the chance to review it, debate it, and approve it.

Given the tremendous effects on the American economy from federal dealings in the gold market, it certainly is reasonable that the people's representatives have a role in approving these transactions, especially since Congress has a neglected but vital constitutional role in overseeing monetary policy. Therefore, I urge all my colleagues to stand up for sound economics, open government, and Congress' constitutional role in monetary policy by cosponsoring the Monetary Freedom and Accountability Act.