Ron Paul to Wield Clout Over Old Nemesis: The Fed

The Federal Reserve can expect an uncomfortable two years on Capitol Hill with a noted Fed skeptic, Rep. Ron Paul, set to chair a House panel that oversees the nation’s central bank, New York Times columnist Floyd Norris writes. Paul, a Texas Republican who wrote the 2009 best-selling book, “End The Fed,” assumes the post amid growing congressional scrutiny fueled by the Fed’s massive, post-crash bailout of banks.

Congress already has forced the Fed to publish an itemized list of bailout transactions.

“I think things are changing,” Paul said.

Paul is as critical of banks as he is of their regulators, arguing that both have too much concentrated power over the economy. But Paul’s influence as a panel chairman might also be blunted: The incoming head of the Financial Services Committee, which oversees Paul’s subcommittee, “is anything but hostile to banks,” Norris writes. An improving economy also could soften calls for reform of U.S. monetary policy.

“I’m not making any rash promises,” Paul said. “I’m up against a lot of influential and very powerful people. They’ve been able to work in secrecy since 1913.”