Today, I placed calls into several congressional offices, looking into the stimulus package, investigations of the Bush administration, and the second phase of the Wall Street bailout. Here is what I found:
1. Foreclosure relief and bankruptcy reform not in the stimulus: With a draft outline of the stimulus package currently circulating, I contacted a congressional aide who confirmed to me that the provisions of HR 225 and S 61, allowing bankruptcy judges to re-write mortgages according to current home values, did not appear to be included and was overall unlikely to be included. Given our efforts on this front earlier in the week, this is unfortunate. However, the aide expressed optimism that this aspect of foreclosure relief and bankruptcy reform would be attached to a near-future, omnibus Foreclosure Relief bill that House Finance Chair Frank will be moving forward later in the session (aka, later this year).
2. How will Senator Whitehouse investigate the Bush administration? Pursuant to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's comments on NPR two days ago, that he intended to investigate the outgoing Bush administration:
One Democratic senator who sits on both the Judiciary and Intelligence committees said Congress does need to see the secret legal opinions drafted for Vice President Dick Cheney by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. Rhode Island's Sheldon Whitehouse considers those opinions a blot on the Justice Department.
"I think that there's a lot that remains to look at, and I appreciate that President Obama doesn't want to make it his purpose as a new president, with America in real distress in many directions, to go back and look at all this, but I think we in Congress have an independent responsibility, and I fully intend to discharge that responsibility," Whitehouse said.
I called Senator Whitehouse's press office to see if the Senator intended to introduce mirror legislation to HR 104, a bill by House Judiciary Chair Conyers to create an independent commission to investigate Bush-era crimes. The press office did not know at this time, but they would get back to me in a day or two once they have the answer.
3. Will there be new conditions, transparency and oversight on bailout funding? Finally, pursuant to a Politico article that Senate Banking Chairman Dodd might not introduce mirror legislation to House Finance Chair Frank's HR 384, which places tough conditions, transparency and oversight on the use of TARP money:
Obama's team will draft a letter laying out some assurances on how it would spend the money, and Dodd says it should be broadened beyond the financial sector to include commitments to help stave off home foreclosures, more accountability and tighter requirements on executive compensation for private companies that receive TARP funds.
Dodd said he's prepared to draft legislation, mirroring a bill proposed by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) last week, to call for a broadening of the TARP program and for more oversight, but he said that a letter from Obama's team - instead of additional legislation - could be sufficient to alleviate concerns in Congress.
I called Senator Dodd's office and asked if Senator Dodd intended to introduce mirror legislation to HR 384 (which is currently being debated in the House). No response has been received at this time. I will have to keep trying.
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These are three of the stories I am following right now. We have entered a new moment where not only are Democrats actually passing a huge amount of legislation, but where they are willing to talk to progressive media about it. As such, if you want me to look into other aspects of these stories, or into other congressional stories altogether, I can do so. Let me know what you want to see in the comments. The doors really are open right now. Let's take advantage of this.
Update: As per the comments, I have added broadband and high-speed rail funding as the next issues I will make inquiries about. And, keep in mind that I started asking Dodd's office about mirror legislation because of commenter debcoop, too. I really will take your concerns to the Hill. Just let me know. |
