By Mark K. Matthews
Washington Bureau
July 2, 2009
WASHINGTON — Looking stern and prosecutorial in a pinstriped suit, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson spent five minutes in May grilling the inspector general of the Federal Reserve System on why she hadn’t audited the more than $1 trillion the Fed has loaned to banks in the past nine months.
“I am shocked to find out that nobody at the Federal Reserve … is keeping track” of where the money is going, Grayson concluded.
At most, only a few dozen people attended that meeting of the House Financial Services Committee. But a video of the exchange, uploaded to YouTube by the Orlando Democrat’s office, has been viewed about 1.5 million times and given new life to legislation co-sponsored by Grayson to require an audit of the notoriously secretive Fed.
The rookie lawmaker, whose video has made him something of a hero to the populist left and libertarian right, is one of a host of House members and senators making use of social media — from YouTube, Facebook and blogs to Twitter accounts that transmit their thoughts in 140-character bursts.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., came to Congress in the late 1970s before the modern Internet was born. But he regularly updates his blog and Twitter account, which recently was named by The Atlantic as one of the top 30 to follow in Washington. U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., also Twitters, as does freshman U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, who also blogs. Another Central Florida freshmen, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D- New Smyrna Beach, is on Facebook.
Ironically, Grayson had a Facebook page during his 2008 campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Ric Keller, R-Orlando, but has not set up a new one for his Capitol office.
What sets Grayson apart from his peers is his broad faith that social-networking tools can be used to bypass traditional media outlets.
“This is a new type of legislating. It’s gone viral,” said Grayson, whose staff has uploaded more than 30 videos of their boss in six months. “This has never happened before. It’s a new model for democracy. You show people a problem. They recognize the problem. And as a result, you can have a new law.”
Part of this thinking — and its use — can be traced to one of his senior aides, Matt Stoller, an active liberal blogger hired to manage Grayson’s media. Stoller, however, says it’s the message — not the medium — that matters most.
“It’s just the sign of the times,” he said. “There are plenty of politicians with a Twitter account, but there are not plenty of politicians asking about $1 trillion in loans.”
Since September, the Federal Reserve has extended more than $1 trillion to shore up banks across the nation. But though some of the recipients have been named — Citigroup, JPMorgan, Bank of America and other national institutions — many have not. And no one has publicly tracked how the money is actually being spent.
The secrecy has enraged both ends of the political spectrum. Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian Texas Republican and former long-shot presidential candidate, introduced legislation that called for an audit of the Fed by the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ watchdog agency.
Its prospects were bleak in a Democratic-controlled Congress. But Grayson liked the idea and soon began recruiting other party members — while hyping the bill’s message at hearings, including the one at which he questioned oversight at the Fed, the nation’s central bank.
And as the popularity of the YouTube video swelled, other lawmakers jumped on the bandwagon. Now, the bill has about 245 co-sponsors.
Matt Falconer, a local anti-tax activist and candidate for Orange County mayor, applauded Grayson’s willingness to confront the Fed and said it has endeared the otherwise liberal Grayson to small-government Paul supporters while also bringing Democratic backers to the bill.
“He really broke the ice on that and got a lot of respect from Ron Paul libertarians,” Falconer said.
It remains uncertain, however, when — or whether — Democratic leaders will allow a vote on the measure.
Fed officials have resisted the idea, arguing that congressional interference could jeopardize the autonomy of the historically secretive agency.
“It’s the independence of monetary policy which is crucial to the maintenance of price stability and economic growth in this country. And that would not be acceptable,” said Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke at a May congressional appearance.
Grayson, never one to back down from a fight, doesn’t buy that argument.
“I think the audit will [find] outrageous favoritism on the part of the Federal Reserve to help its friends,” he said.
He also issued a statement: “We pushed it past the magic number of 218, a majority in the House, and I believe the bill needs to come up for a vote.”
Watch for it on YouTube.
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