Alan Grayson grills Ben Bernanke on ForeignLending

[Odyssee]

During his questioning of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Shalom Bernanke before the House Financial Services Committee, U.S. congressman Alan Grayson (D), representing Florida's 8th congressional district (Orlando, Ocala, Eustis), burst out laughing at Bernanke's hubris.
(21 July 2009)

Grayson's questioning focused on the Fed's handouts to FOREIGN central banks in Europe and other countries. These "Central Bank Liquidity Swaps" rose from a total of $24 billion at the end of 2007, to over $553 billion by the end of 2008.

<b>Grayson "So who got the money?"
Bernanke "Financial institutions in Europe and other counries."
Grayson "Which ones?"
Bernanke "I don't know."
Gryson "Half a trillion dollars and you don't know who got the money?"</b>


It gets even better.


<b>Grayson "Well, look at the next page [in Bernanke's written report], the very next page has the U.S. dollar nominal exchange rate, which shows a 20 percent increase in the U.S. dollar nominal exchange rate at exactly the same time that you were handing out half a trillion dollars. You think that's a coincidence?"
Bernanke "Yes."
Grayson "hah-hah-hah-hah!"</b>

Watch the video
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_VCy0lMU1g