Bernanke sent letters of gratitude to five Democratic members of Congress. Ben Bernanke's thank-you notes

If you have the Federal Reserve’s back, there’s a good chance Ben Bernanke will notice.

He may even send you a thank you note.


In July, the Fed chairman sent letters of gratitude to five Democratic members of Congress after they delivered speeches on the House floor urging fellow lawmakers to reject the “Audit the Fed” bill authored by retiring Texas Republican Ron Paul, the central bank’s chief antagonist.

Their efforts failed to defeat the bill, but they were not in vain, at least in Bernanke’s eyes.

“While the outcome of the vote was not in doubt, your willingness to stand up for the independence of the Federal Reserve is greatly appreciated,” Bernanke wrote in the letters, which were obtained by POLITICO through a Freedom of Information Act request.

He continued, “Independence in monetary policy operations is now the norm for central banks around the world — and it would be a grave mistake were Congress to reverse the protection it provided to the Federal Reserve more than 30 years ago.”

The letters were sent to Reps. Barney Frank, Elijah Cummings, Melvin Watt, Carolyn Maloney and Steny Hoyer.

“It's not unusual for the chairman to write thank you notes to members of Congress,” said Fed spokesman David Skidmore.

Dated July 26, the notes were written the day after the House voted 327-98 to pass Paul’s bill, which would authorize the Government Accountability Office to audit how the central bank implements monetary policy.

Paul, Congress’s most outspoken critic of the Fed, has advocated the bill for years, but the legislation only recently started to gain political support.

Bernanke has warned Paul’s proposal would give lawmakers a dangerous opening to weigh in on the central bank’s policy decisions that should be free from all political influences.

“I think that would have a chilling effect and would prevent the Fed from operating on the apolitical and independent basis that is so important,” Bernanke said at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in July.

The chairman’s concerns were echoed by a number of Democratic lawmakers in House floor remarks prior to the vote.

Frank, for example, summed up the legislation as “an ideological agenda by a group of people who didn’t like what the Federal Reserve was doing,” while Hoyer said he believes the bill increases the likelihood that “the Fed will make decisions based on political rather than economic considerations.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said the Senate will not consider the bill this year, and it’s unclear how much support it will get in the next Congress now that Paul is retiring.

Still, the political momentum that “Audit the Fed” has gained signals a growing sense of unease among Republicans — particularly within the tea party — about the Federal Reserve and the actions it takes to stimulate the economy.

Those who seek to stifle that momentum have Bernanke’s thanks.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 6:12 a.m. on September 27, 2012.