Dear Sen. Bennet:

Coloradans are waiting for you to endorse S. 604, the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act. How long will they have to wait before you add your name to the long list of cosponsors?

The Federal Reserve has committed a staggering $6.8 trillion over the past two years to stabilize the financial industry. All Americans could eventually pay the price of Fed bailouts. Many members of Congress want to know where those trillions of dollars went. Thirty senators have signed on as co-sponsors of the Sunshine Act. In the House, 309 representatives are co-sponsoring a similar bill, H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act.

The bills would demand full transparency from the Federal Reserve for the first time in history by removing all restrictions from Government Accountability Office audits of the Fed and mandating an audit by the end of 2010. I urge you to do the right thing for Colorado and sign on as a co-sponsor of S. 604.

Right now, the Fed, an independent government agency, is immune to government oversight. The nation's central bank won't even reveal the names of the companies it has bailed out.

Sen. Bennet, as a member of the Senate Banking Committee, you should be at the forefront of efforts to impose transparency and accountability on the Federal Reserve. After all, when it provides these massive bailouts to big banks, the Fed risks all Americans' wealth, not just its own assets. According to TARP Inspector General Neil Barofsky, the Fed would have to recoup any losses through higher interest rates or a taxpayer-financed bailout from Congress. Either way, American taxpayers, businesses and consumers would pay the bill if Fed bailouts fail.

And according to the New York Times, the Federal Reserve's vast infusion of new dollars into the financial system carries a significant risk of future inflation. Rising prices would erode the value of retirement accounts and savage workers' paychecks in a way not seen since the Carter administration in the late 1970s.

Congress and the American people should at least find out whether the trillions of dollars the government has shoveled into the financial system have been effective. Future public officials, faced with a similar financial emergency, need to know which measures succeeded, and which were mistakes. The only way to find out is with an independent audit.

But you apparently want government to operate in the blind. So does the financial industry, which as of June 30 had contributed $403,000 to your campaign. Yet six of Colorado's seven House members are cosponsors of H.R. 1207. And 30 of your Senate colleagues, ranging from liberal Barbara Boxer of California to conservative Jim DeMint of South Carolina, have signed onto S. 604.

Auditing Federal Reserve operations isn't a political question. It's a simple matter of good government and financial responsibility. You neglected those objectives when you rubber-stamped the $787 billion "stimulus" bill without reading it. I urge you not to squander another opportunity to protect Coloradans and serve the cause of fiscal responsibility. Please add your name to the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act and help expose the Federal Reserve's lending practices to public scrutiny. Colorado is waiting.

Sincerely, Ken Buck