Bob Graham tapped to help find cause of financial crisis

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today appointed Florida's Bob Graham to a 10-member financial crisis inquiry commission, established by Congress to examine the domestic and global causes of the financial crisis. 

“The American people are entitled to a thorough examination of what went wrong," Reid said. "The men and women who we appoint to this commission must help the public gain a full understanding of why our system failed us in the past and I am confident that we have chosen the right people to lead that effort."

Pelosi said the commission is charged with conducting a "thorough, systematic, and non-partisan examination of the failures in both government and financial markets. The men and women we are appointing today bring great experience and credibility to the work of the commission.” 

The panel will be chaired by former California treasurer Phil Angelides. The commission is to conduct a comprehensive examination of, and hold hearings on, more than 20 specific areas of inquiry related to the financial crisis, including the role of fraud and abuse in the financial sector; state and federal regulatory enforcement; tax treatment of financial products; credit rating agencies; lending practices and
securitization; unregulated financial products and practices; and corporate governance and executive compensation. The commission will also examine the causes of major financial institutions that failed or were likely to fail had they not received exceptional government assistance. Its report is due to Congress on Dec. 2010. 

The two leaders noted Graham, a former Florida senator and governor, "brings a wealth of experience and understanding of finance" to the appointment from his years as a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee. 

Comments

[Alice]

HE COULD START BY LOOKING INTO ALL THE BIG BANKERS LIKE SINK FIRST??

[Alice]

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is being forced to acknowledge the wide gap between its once-upbeat predictions about the economy and today's bleak landscape.

The administration's annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits and unemployment and slower growth than projected in President Barack Obama's budget in February and update in May, and that could complicate his efforts to get his signature health care and global-warming proposals through Congress.

The release of the update - usually scheduled for mid-July - has been put off until the middle of next month, giving rise to speculation the White House is delaying the bad news at least until Congress leaves town on its August 7 summer recess.