Ohio Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich wants Congress to pass a bill sponsored by Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul that would give the Government Accountability Office the authority to fully audit the Federal Reserve, which Kucinich says “acts like it’s some kind of high exalted priesthood.”

“This is all about disclosure and accountability. You know, the Fed’s not some kind of hocus pocus, black box operation. The Fed essentially supplants the constitutional mandate in Article 1, Section 8, that belongs to the Congress of the United States,” Kucinich said in a speech on the House floor Tuesday.

“Let’s look at some recent history here. 2008: subprime meltdown, collateralized debt obligation, go back for mortgage-backed securities, neighborhoods in Cleveland melting down, people losing their homes. The Fed looked the other way and we’re saying, ‘oh, don’t go into the Fed, it would be political.’ Yes, it’s political. We have unemployment because of politics. We have people losing their homes because of politics. We have banks getting uncalculated amounts of money from the Federal Reserve and we don’t even know about it. Meanwhile people can’t get a loan to keep their home or keep their business.”

In their speeches on the House floor Tuesday, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer and Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank said they oppose the legislation.

Despite this, Kucinich said: “you bet we should audit the Fed. We have to have accountability.” (RELATED: Kucinich praises Ron Paul)

“It’s time that Congress stood for its constitutional role: Article 1, Section 8, the power to coin or create money. It’s time we stood up for America’s 99 percent,” said Kucinich. “It’s time that we stood up to the Federal Reserve that right now acts like it’s some kind of high exalted priesthood, unaccountable in a democracy.”

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