Paul hopes bill to audit Federal Reserve will boost campaign

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul hopes a promised vote in January on a bill to audit the Federal Reserve can boost his struggling campaign heading into the pivotal Iowa caucuses.

Paul told The Associated Press in a phone interview the Senate has scheduled a procedural vote on Jan. 12 on a measure championed by the Kentucky senator’s father, former Texas congressman and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. The vote comes two days before the next Republican presidential debate and nearly three weeks before the Iowa caucuses.

Auditing the Fed is a popular issue among conservative voters. Paul is hoping the vote could lift his sagging poll numbers, which had threatened to disqualify him from CNN’s prime-time televised debate earlier this week.