Bonus round: Obama, Dodd hammer Wall Street over $18.4B largesse
Following the report that Wall Street firms had handed out $18.4 billion in bonuses last year amid the financial meltdown, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) said he would look for "every possible legal means" to get the money returned.
"I'm going to be urging - in fact not urging, demanding - that the Treasury Department figures out some way to get the money back," Dodd said. "This is unacceptable."
However, here is what you didn't hear from either President Obama or Senator Dodd as they blasted the bonuses: legislation they are blocking makes it possible to retroactively strip those bonuses. Two weeks ago, the House passed legislation, Finance Chair Barney Frank's HR 384, which retroactively strips recipients of bailout money from receiving bonuses (more in the extended entry):
When I offered in a blog thread to go lobby on TARP oversight and reform while I was in DC, little did I know that I was going to be asked to write about it on Open Left. It's a challenge to rise to the standards set by all the wonderful writers and activists on the front page of this blog. And did I mention that I am sure they are all much better typists than I am....(.Any misspellings really is my typing, I won spelling bees as a kid.)
In the past I have employed 2 methods. The first, more official one is call ahead, get an appointment with hopefully the legislator, but often it is the Chief of Staff, Legislative aide or the Press person. This works when they are friendly, agree with you and want very much for the legislation to pass. My other is the walk in and see what happens....and that's what I did Wednesday, not because Dorgan wouldn't welcome help on this bill because there had been no time to make an appointment.
About an hour ago I had a chance to speak with Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who sits in the Banking committee. I asked Senator Brown that, in light of HR 384 ready to pass the House, would he help push Senator Dorgan's S 195, which has been referred to the banking committee and which places similar oversight and transparency requirements on the Wall Street bailout money. His response was both clear and positive: yes, he would try to push S 195 out of committee, and that "we" (I assume he meant himself and other banking committee Senators) would speak to, and work with, Chairman Dodd in an attempt order to make it happen.
This is news gives real hope that additional legal restrictions will be placed on the second $350 billion in TARP funds, and that the House's effort to pass HR 384 will not be in vain. I will try to follow-up with Senator Brown's office on this matter later in the week, checking in and progress and looking for ways that we can assist in his efforts.
Further, I also was able to speak to Senator Byron Dorgan. I told him that the Open Left community was ready to help pass S 195, and that we appreciated his efforts in introducing the bill. He thanked us for our support. Thank you, Senators Dorgan and Brown.
HR 104, a bill by House Judiciary Chair John Conyers to create a commission to investigate Bush-era crimes, took a step forward yesterday when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled her support. From the Young Turks:
Pelosi who famously remarked in 2006 after Democrats won control of both Houses of Congress that "impeachment is off the table" indicated during an interview with Fox News she was willing to support legislation proposed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers to create a blue-ribbon panel of outside experts to probe the "broad range" of policies pursued by the Bush administration "under claims of unreviewable war powers," including torture and warrantless wiretaps.
But told by Fox News' Chris Wallace that President-elect Barack Obama signaled his unwillingness to support efforts to investigate the Bush administration, Pelosi countered, saying, "I think that we have to learn from the past, and we cannot let the politicizing of the - for example, the Justice Department, to go unreviewed. Past is prologue. We learn from it. And my views on the subject - I don't think that Mr. Obama and Mr. Conyers are that far apart."(...)
Pelosi said issues related to the politicization of the Justice Department will require Congress to "look at each item and see what is a violation of the law, and do we even have a right to ignore it, and other things that are - maybe time spent better looking to the future rather than to the past."
The pre-season prediction of the House being more progressive than the Senate appears to be holding true to form. On Wednesday, the House will pass legislation to place increased transparency, oversight and conditions on TARP funds, even though the Senate, led in this case by Baking Chair Chris Dodd, is currently refusing to pass similar legislation. The same can be said of HR 104 as there is currently no equivalent legislation in the Senate to investigate Bush administration crimes.
"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 have placed a call to Senator Whitehouse's office on this matter, inquiring as to whether the Senator intends to introduce legislation similar to HR 104 in the Senate. I have not heard back yet, and I do not imagine that I will hear back before Wednesday given the holiday and festivities, but this is another great example of a piece of progressive legislation that needs a little help to get through Congress. As such, it is legislation we will work to try and pass.
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