For it before they were against it - Audit the Fed Edition

In case you didn't hear, an amendment to the financial reform legislation by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) passed today. The amendment allows for a one time audit of the the activities of the Federal Reserve that are currently not audited (such an audit is prohibited by law).

The problem is that the amendment that passed is a weakened version of Sanders' original amendment that would have allowed for future audits as well. It is reported that the request to weaken the amendment came from the White House as well as other sources.

Open Congress notes how Senator David Vitter (R-LA) sought to revive the tougher version:

Thanks to Sen. David Vitter [R, LA], something very similar to the original Sanders amendment is going to get a vote today as well. In addition to removing the special protections from audits for the Fed from U.S. code, the Vitter amendment adds new language to help preserve the Fed’s political independence

Open Congress also notes that Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) were both co-sponsors of the original Sanders amendment. The both voted no on the Vitter version.

Ron Wyden (D-OR) was also a co-sponsor of the original and voted yes on the Vitter version.