SeriousBull

Now’s there’s Proof

Tags: Banks + Barney Frank + Chris Dodd + Economy + Federal Reserve + financial reform

It is well known that Congress is paid by lobbyist to change bills proposed that have adverse consequences to business. Both Senator Christopher Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee his counterpart Barney Frank in the House have adamantly claimed that these contributions never change their votes. SB has previously opined on the truthfulness of these statements however disingenuous they are. The fact of the matter is that the payments provide access to change what they don’t like. No vote ever comes up before the bought and paid for Congressman adopt bills to their liking building loop holes around the most onerous provisions or eliminating them altogehter.

The financial reform legislation to be the legacy work of Dodd before he retires on a fat pension with healthcare benefits, is just one more example. Yet now we have direct proof these Congressmen deliberately do less than would be necessary or expected to protect the public. Barney Frank is quoted by Bloomberg News stating: “There were votes I lost on the floor of the House that we would have won if we had been doing them now because of the public attention,” Frank said in a May 13 interview. In other words his bill had loop holes that are getting closed now that he public advocacy groups are involved. The Bloomberg article by Phil Mattingly states: “Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said some parts of the Senate legislation go beyond his bill. The House section on the regulation of derivatives, for example, was criticized by consumer advocates, including Washington-based Americans for Financial Reform, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler for creating loopholes for financial firms to receive exemptions from much of the new regulations.” In the same article Robert Litan of the Kauffman Foundation says: “Things have changed since the House voted. The public has gotten a lot angrier and the game has changed due to a rise in the anti-bank fever.” Lobbyist aren’t easily defeated though and though the House could just pass the tougher Senate bill the money pouring in is likely to stop that. Frank has hinted that he will not do that but instead open the bill up to compromise in an open forum. A conference committee meeting to align the two bills gives Lobbyist extra time to see their money work. Already the public has lost its push to have the Fed regularly audited and the Fed will become the super-regulator having both the purse and the responsibility for oversight with the mandate to “insure the stability of banks and the financial system.” Congress sees no conflict of interest there, only preservation of the status quo and money, money.

So now there’s proof from the horses mouth that your Congress is not working for you–as if you needed it. We need term limits and legislators that act as fiduciaries. They have to vote on limiting there own terms so that isn’t going to happen. Voters must enforce change by eliminating all incumbents. Doing so will yield the extra benefit of cutting the deficit and their pension benefits as well. November is the next opportunity. Don’t miss it.

May 17, 2010 - Politics