that article was not clear because it covered two different topics. the exchange stabilization fund (esf) was created during the depression to support the dollar. now they are concerned about redemptions from money market funds.

at the moment, the great fear is that a money market fund (the primary fund) "broke the buck" and declined from $1 to 97 cents. since money market funds are supposed to be the safest investments, this could trigger a stampede out of them. so the esf's $50 billion will stand ready to prop up any money market funds whose illiquid securities would cause it to decline below $1.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080919/...

there is no further mention of gold anywhere, but if the us is going to pledge its gold reserves to support anything, that should mean we can expect some kind of audit to prove the gold actually exists, and hasn't been covertly leased or lent out.