Another Chapter in the Annals of Government in the Land of Oz.
This weekend, without much fanfare or coverage from the media, one of the most popular bills before the House of Representatives was given the “Washington as usual” treatment. This treatment resulted in a very good and needed bill being tied to a horrible and counter-productive piece of legislation, thereby effectively killing it while providing political cover for those who do not want effective control over the Federal Reserve Bank. First a quick overview of the facts.
The Audit the Fed bill (HR 1207) was a plain, simple and popular piece of legislation meant to hold the secretive Federal Reserve Bank up to scrutiny for its past and recent actions with tax payer dollars. This bill was so popular that the public outcry for the bill caused every Republican Representative and a good number of Democrats to co-sponsor the bill. In total, this bill had 313 co-sponsors, enough to assure passage. The sponsors, in order to drum up more support and to get a wider audience for its central premise (that the Fed Bank had a lot to answer for) allowed the bill to pass through Rep. Barney Frank’s Committee on Finance, a brave move on their part. Despite a blatant attempt to gut the bill by some Democrats on the Committee, it passed the first major test of the Committee (the mark up). However, this would be the high point for this bill.
For you see that Committee Chair Frank also had another bill regarding the Federal Reserve Bank which was meant to create yet another agency to oversee our financial institutions and would expand the powers of the Fed Bank. As is his prerogative, Chairman Frank added HR 1207 as an amendment to this bill. As a result, every Republican voted against HR 1207, including Ron Paul, as it was part of a incredibly bad piece of legislation, while the Democrats got to vote for it. Meanwhile, over in the Senate, the members are ready to either remove HR 1207 completely or pass it with significant changes. The Companion Bill to HR1207, S.604, languishes in committee with only 30 or so sponsors and no hope of a floor vote, much less passage. If the bill just passed contains enough of HR 1207 coming out of the Senate or Conference Committee, the hopes of reviving the core ideas behind HR 1207 die with this bill. Additionally, Judd Gregg, Republican Senator from New Hampshire, has come out to say that he would filibuster any legislation like HR 1207.
This sad conclusion to our popular effort is an object lesson for us all. Even clear, popular and timely legislation doesn’t stand a chance in the current government we have. Washington appears more detached and further away than ever. The Byzantine ways of our Congress/political establishment has insured that the American People will never learn the truth about what’s going on inside this private, secret, all powerful bank. Our Congressional Delegation now enjoys the political cover of supporting HR 1207, but never really having to pass it. The many voices of citizens from around the country were drowned out by the hum of the business as usual machine in Washington.
But does this mean that we should lose heart? Should we give up? No, and a thousand times no! Instead, it clarifies something we have been saying for a long time, but have not heard ourselves. Washington is the problem, not the solution. Until we change how we see Washington’s role in our lives, Washington will not change. While Pat, Peter, and Bernie can stay snug in their governmental cocoons oblivious to our cries, we have at our finger tips another way.
For change to occur in Washington, it has to start in Montpelier. We can’t camp out on the doorstep of Mr. Leahy’s, Welch’s and Sander’s Offices, but we can make our presence know in Montpelier and with our local representatives. We may not be a player at the tables of the powerful along the Potomac, but we have the power of proximity with our elected representatives in Montpelier. The change I speak about is not cosmetic or simply a question of personnel occupying an office, it is a sea change of expectations, ideas, and political atmosphere. Not just talking about legislation, but whether such legislation is required or appropriate. Not just talking about responsive representatives in Montpelier, but representatives who understand the appropriate role of government. Not just changing the attitude in Montpelier, but the attitude of all Vermonters, away from “let government do it” to “let's make it happen.” In all, instead of continuing the well-worn hobby of Washington, issue chasing, we must start a new, different effort toward enforcing and support fundamental principles that made this nation and state great. The first step, is to demand them at home, before we try them in the Land of Political Oz.
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