Commission to Examine Causes of Financial Crisis Protects Congress from Scrutiny Says Brady
WASHINGTON D.C. At the last moment with little notice leaders in Congress slipped into the mortgage fraud protection bill considered by the House this week a provision creating a commission to examine the causes of the unprecedented global financial crisis.
Unlike the independent 9-11 Commission though the new commission is stacked with Democratic appointees. The original version included representatives of the financial services committees led by Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank who many experts identify as having contributed to the housing banking and securities collapse. After protest that provision was pulled in favor of a majority of appointees by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid.
The commission a ten member panel with six Democrats in charge will focus on the actions of private companies and regulating agencies leaving unexamined the role of Congress in contributing to the worst economic recession since the Great Depression.
This commission is a sham. Like the fox guarding the henhouse it shields Congress from scrutiny and protects lawmakers from being held accountable for the decisions they made that helped create this crisis" said U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) the ranking House Republican on the Joint Economic Committee.
Brady and another member of the Joint Economic Committee Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) have introduced H.R. 2111 the Congressional Commission on Financial Accountability and Preparedness Act that uses the highly respected 9-11 Commission as its model: an independent equally-balanced panel to delve into all factors that contributed to the financial abuses and collapse including the role of lawmakers in Congress.
So when will the Democratic-led panel report its work? December 2010 one month after the next congressional elections.
Thats no coincidence" observes Brady.
