U.S. Senate banking chair says interested in Fed audit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee said on Thursday he was "very interested" in requiring a government audit of the Federal Reserve and its portfolio. U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that Congress should not function as an extra Fed governor, but it should have some oversight of monetary policy decisions. The subject of auditing the Fed re-emerged this week after U.S. Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican and potential 2016 presidential candidate, introduced an "Audit The Fed" bill with 30 co-sponsors. Shelby did not indicate whether he would support that bill. But he did say on Thursday that he would hold a hearing on plans to audit the Fed, according to the publication The Hill. "We don't want to run the Fed, but I do believe that the Fed — especially with the portfolio that it has — we need to know what they're doing," he told reporters, the Hill reported on its website. Torrie Miller, a spokeswoman for Shelby, confirmed that the senator has expressed interest in holding a hearing. She said the committee does not currently have a Fed hearing scheduled. The Fed is subject to various audits, including reviews by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). But since 1978, its monetary policy discussions have been legally exempt from a GAO audit. Fed officials have urged lawmakers to respect the agency's independence. (Reporting by Michael Flaherty and Emily Stephenson; Edited by Alan Crosby)