(Kitco News) – Former Congressman Ron Paul said he is dissatisfied but still has hope after the Senate failed to pass his son’s Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 – widely known as the “Audit The Fed” bill.

The measure from Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, was blocked Tuesday. He got only 53 votes as he sought to invoke cloture and bring his bill to a vote. The move required 60 votes.

“While I am extremely disappointed with the outcome of the vote, this vote ought to put the Federal Reserve on notice,” said Ron Paul said in a news release on his Campaign For Liberty website Tuesday. “With the American people firmly on our side on Fed transparency, and momentum shifting our way in recent Congresses, the Federal Reserve will not be able to continue operating in secrecy from the people’s representatives much longer.”

The elder Paul managed to gain 274 cosponsors for his legislation looking to audit the central bank, and it passed the House of Representatives in July 2012, the press release continued.

“The American people understand that we should not cede control of our economy and our prosperity to a small, unelected group of central planners. The average American, unlike big-spending politicians and crony capitalists, do not benefit from the Fed’s policies,” Ron Paul continued.

“Once again, Rand is leading the way in the U.S. Senate by continuing the push for Audit the Fed, and I urge him and his colleagues to keep pursuing Audit the Fed until it passes both chambers and is signed by the president.”

Former Fed chair Ben Bernanke also shared his opinions on the bill in a Brookings Institute blog post Tuesday. He argued that the bill was not actually about auditing the central bank, but rather about putting political pressure on the Fed.

By Sarah Benali of Kitco News; sbenali@kitco.com
Follow me on Twitter @SdBenali