Ohio Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich thanked Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul for his “diligence” in advocating for a bill that would give the Government Accountability Office the authority to fully audit the Federal Reserve, adding that it is “baloney” to suggest Congress cannot “touch the Fed.”

The legislation moved through the House Oversight Committee and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday.

“Today, as this nation continues to deal with the effects of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, we know for a fact that trillions were created by the Fed during the financial crisis, largely for the benefit of the biggest financial institutions, which brought us to crisis in the first place. Yet the Fed’s monetary policy operations remain largely exempt from scrutiny,” Kucinich said in a statement Wednesday.

“When Congress created the Fed in 1913, Congress delegated specific tasks to it, and Congress remains constitutionally-obligated to conduct oversight over the Fed as a result. The Fed should not be permitted to operate in the dark without oversight by Congress and accountability to the people.”

He added: “I also want to go on the record thanking Representative Ron Paul for his work on the larger issue here with respect to the Federal Reserve. We wouldn’t be at this moment except for his diligence. I was proud to work with him in the early stages of this bill.”

If President Barack Obama ultimately signs it into law, H.R. 459, sponsored by Paul, would require the GAO to audit the Federal Reserve banks before the end of the year.

“This whole idea about, ‘Well, we can’t touch the Fed’ is baloney,” Kucinich said in the committee markup on Wednesday.

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