WASHINGTON, Jan. 12  – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement after voting in favor of legislation to audit the Federal Reserve:

“Too much of the Fed’s business is conducted in secret, known only to the bankers on its various boards and committees.  In 2010, I inserted an amendment in Dodd-Frank to audit the emergency lending by the Federal Reserve during the financial crisis. As a result of this audit, we learned that an institution that was created to serve all Americans had been hijacked by the very bankers it regulates.

We must expand on that first review of the Fed’s activities. Requiring the Government Accountability Office to conduct a full and independent audit of the Fed each and every year, would be an important step towards making the Federal Reserve a more democratic institution that is responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans rather than the billionaires on Wall Street.”

To see the results of the 2011 Fed audit click here.