Monetary Freedom Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs.
Monetary Freedom Act - Title I: Assay, Inventory, and Audit of Gold Reserves - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a full inventory of U.S. gold reserves and analyze the sufficiency of security measures for such reserves. Requires the General Accounting Office to review and transmit such inventory to Congress. Title II: Prohibition on Sale of Gold Bullion - Amends the Gold Reserve Act of 1934 to require congressional authorization to sell gold bullion. Title III: Prohibition of Seizure of Privately Owned Gold - Amends the Trading With the Enemy Act to repeal the President's authority to regulate transactions in gold or silver coin or bullion during the time of war. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to repeal the Secretary's authority to require the exchange of gold coins, bullion, and certificates for other U.S. currency if necessary to protect the U.S. currency system. Reaffirms the constitutional right of the people to hold gold. Title IV: Repeal of Legal Tender Laws - Repeals specified provisions concerning gold and silver coins and bullion, clad coins, currency, and other legal tender. Repeals all other provisions conferring legal tender status upon any monetary instrument. Title V: Redemption of Federal Reserve Notes - Directs the Secretary to redeem in gold all Federal Reserve and U.S. notes. Makes gold the money of account of the U.S. Government. Authorizes the Secretary to issue gold certificates for redeeming such notes and gold coins in denominations by weight. Directs the Secretary and the Federal Reserve to cease issuing Federal Reserve and U.S. notes on enactment of this Act. Title VI: Open Banking - Requires all banks to keep sufficient money in their possession at all times to cover all outstanding promises to pay a sum of money on demand. Authorizes any association of persons, who file an organization certificate, to carry on the business of banking. Title VII: Judicial Application - Sets forth the rule to be used by courts in deciding controversies concerning redemption. Title VIII: Effective Date - Makes title VI effective 360 days after enactment. Makes all other titles effective on enactment of this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 30, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 30, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RON PAUL (R-TX) introduced it on July 30, 1980, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 3 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 30, 1980, 16843 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16843 days ago, on July 30, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers