Ron Paul’s issues advance

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul may not be able to pull votes, but he is having an impact on the Republican Party nonetheless.

In hopes of tapping into the passion of Paul’s well organized followers, GOP leaders are moving on some of the issues he uses in his perennial campaigns. Last week, the U.S. House voted 327-98 for an audit of the Federal Reserve sponsored by Paul, a Texas member of the House. Eighty-nine Democrats joined all but one of the Republicans in voting for the measure.

Paul is author of the book End the Fed.

U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei and U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, both Nevada Republicans, issued statements supporting the idea.

“The Fed’s monetary policy has far-reaching consequences for the American people, affecting everything from employment to consumer prices to interest rates,” Amodei’s statement read. “Some oversight and accountability are more than warranted. It makes you wonder, who would oppose such transparency? This is an issue where my colleague from Texas, Rep. Ron Paul, has been right, and I’m proud to support his effort.”

Heller’s statement said, “It is essential that Congress exercise its constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight and scrutinize monetary policy in an open and transparent way.”