ICYMI: Dr. Rand Paul’s End the Fed’s Big Bank Bailout Act Considered in the Senate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 10th, 2025
Contact:Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343
WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) delivered remarks on the Senate floor ahead of consideration of his amendment to the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, theEnd the Fed’s Big Bank Bailout Act.
This legislation targetsthe Federal Reserve’s twin types of interest payments that act as subsidies for big banks: Interest on Reserve Balances (IORB) and the Overnight Reverse Repurchase Agreement (ONRRP). Together, these two subsidies have cost taxpayers more than half a trillion dollars in just the last five years.
The amendment failed (14-82).
Remarks as delivered:
“The Federal Reserve pays both foreign and domestic banks to simply park their money in Fed accounts. In other words, to not loan money at all. Over the past five years, the Fed’s big bank bailout amounts to over half a trillion dollars.
This bailout causes the Fed to operate at a loss, which means that the Fed cannot remit profits to the taxpayer as it normally does. According to the economist Judy Shelton, if these payments stopped, banks would buy treasury securities and would bring interest rates down.
Some people say that this program is a floor to interest rates. My amendment ends these subsidies. Let’s end the Fed’s big bank bailout. Let’s lower interest rates. Please vote for my amendment.”
Watch the remarksHERE.
Read the billHERE.
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