H.R. 1495: Gold Reserve Transparency Act of 2011

This testimony discusses H.R. 1495, the Gold Reserve Transparency Act of 2011. This proposed legislation, which was recently referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology, House Committee on Financial Services, provides for an audit of the gold reserves of the United States. Specifically, the bill calls for the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct and complete, not later than 6 months after passage of the act, a full assay, inventory, and audit of gold reserves of the United States at the place or places where such reserves are kept, together with an analysis of the sufficiency of the measures taken for the security of such reserves. The bill also calls for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the results of such assay, inventory, audit, and analysis and, not later than 9 months after passage of the act, prepare and transmit to the Congress a report of GAO's findings together with the results of the work performed by the Secretary of the Treasury. This testimony focuses on (1) the reported holdings of gold reserves of the United States as of September 30, 2010; (2) past and current audit efforts regarding gold reserves of the United States, including those of the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) Office of Inspector General (OIG); and (3) the requirements of H.R. 1495.