Financial Crisis Commission Holds First Meeting

Commission to Investigate Cause of Economic Crisis

In an effort to investigate the causes of the recent economic crisis, both domestic and global, Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) introduced legislation that would set up of a fact-finding Financial Crisis Commission. That legislation passed and was signed by President Obama in May ‘09. Senator Conrad at the time stated, "The commission … will investigate wrongdoing and help establish rules to help shore up our national economy and ensure this never happens again."

The commission, modeled after the 9-11 Commission, has been granted subpoena power and will have 18 months to investigate institutions and individuals that may have violated laws in the period of time leading up to the financial crisis. The members of the commission was to be made up of financial experts, excluding members of Congress, and was to be bipartisan. Six of the members were chosen by the Democratic leadership and four by the Republican leadership, so it can be said that the bipartisan makeup leans to the left. Over the next fifteen months, these ten members share the task of connecting the dots of transactions, or lack thereof, leading up to last year’s financial collapse. With the commission’s findings due December 15, 2010, and three months into limited allotted time, the commission’s first public meeting was at last held on Friday, Sept. 17, 2009. 

This initial meeting of ten appeared to be more of a formality, where the group’s mission was described and prepared statements by the commission members were read. Some expressed concerns regarding Fannie Mae, the Federal Reserve and other regulators, and other institutions thought too big to fail. Public hearings are expected to begin sometime in December at the soonest, once needed documents have been gathered and testimony from financial executives and government officials has been obtained.

Senator Isakson applauded the first meeting of the commission and urged its members to remain focused on investigating the cause of the crisis rather than conentrating on proposed financial regulation overhaul. In Isakson’s own words, he stated, “I hope members of Congress and the President will give this Commission time to act. It does not make any sense to pass new laws before we get an objective evaluation to find out what went right and what we must do to prevent it from happening again… I trust members of the commission understand the importance of making sure we don’t miss the mark, that we stay focused and we get the answers to what caused this financial collapse. It’s what the American people deserve.”

Financial Crisis Commission Committee Members

The 10 appointed members of the Financial Crisis Commission include:

Phil Angelides (Chairman) – Appointed by Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid, Angelides is a liberal Democrat from the state of California. His is a former state treasurer of California (1999-2007) and ran unsuccessfully for Governor of that state in 2006. Mr. Angelides is also Chairman of the Canyon Johnson Urban Communities Fund and Board Chairman of the Apollo Alliance, who recently had this to say about his recent appointment,

“The Apollo Alliance applauds the decision of Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid to appoint Phil Angelides to serve as Chair of the newly created Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. We know that Phil has the experience, knowledge, and energy to lead this critical non-partisan effort to ascertain the facts about what led to this nation’s financial crisis.

“As Chairman of the Board of the Apollo Alliance, Phil has been a leader in our efforts to bring Americans from all walks of life together to build a clean energy, good jobs economy for our country’s future. We are confident that his expertise in fields of investor protection, housing, finance, and corporate and financial market reform will serve the Commission well as it undertakes a thorough inquiry in the best interests of the country.”

Former Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) - Graham was governor of Florida from 1979-1987, U.S. Senator from 1987-2005, and unsuccessfully bid for the 2004 presidential nomination for the Democratic Party.  In addition to his appointment to the Financial Crisis Commission, Graham has served as Chair to the Commission on the Prevention of WMD and has founded the Center for Public Service based in Gainesville, Florida.

Brooksley Born - Dubbed by the Post as "the Cassandra of the credit crisis," Born is an attorney and has worked in the past in support of feminist issues. Born also served as Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under Bill Clinton from 1996-1999.

John Thompson – Democrat appointed, Mr. Thompson is chairman and CEO of Symantec Corporation which is involved in Internet security technology. Prior to his affiliation with Symantec, which began in 1999, Mr. Thompson worked for IBM Corp. for 27 years.

Heather Murren – Democrat appointed, Murren retired as managing director of Global Securities Research and Economics of Merrill Lynch, Ms. Murren is cofounder and Chairman of the Board for Nevada Cancer Institute. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and member of the Board of Trustees of the Johns Hopkins University.

Byron Georgiou – Democrat appointed attorney from Las Vegas, NV, affiliated of counsel since 2000 to the world’s largest plaintiffs’ securities practice, Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins. Georgiou also serves on the advisory board of Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance since 2005. He is also president of Georgiou Enterprises.

Bill Thomas – Vice Chair  – Republican appointed, Mr. Thomas was a U.S. Representative from California’s 22nd district from 1979 until 2007. Thomas was House Committee on Ways and Means chairman from 2001-2006 and chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Administration from 1995-2001. Thomas is known for his sharp interrogations and an occasional "hot temper."

Peter Wallison – Republican appointed, Mr. Wallison is a lawyer and served as White House Counsel, as well as Treasury Department General Counsel, under President Ronald Reagan. Wallison also served as Counsel to the Vice President as appointed by Nelson Rockefeller. According to Wikipedia, Wallison is an Arthur F. Burns Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute on Financial Policy Studies and specializes in finanacial markets deregulation.

Keith Hennessey – Republican appointed, Keith Hennessey was the 7th Director of the National Economic Council (2007-2009). Prior to that appointment, Mr. Hennessey served under President Bush since August 2002 as Deputy Assistant to the U.S. President for Economic Policy and Deputy Director of the U.S. National Economic Council. Posted on his highly-regarded website, below is a small portion of Mr. Hennessey’s opening statement made at this first meeting:

"…I think what we’re doing here is very important. We also need to make sure it’s relevant. We have a reporting deadline of 15 months from now. If we wait that long to produce any usable information, then the work of this commission will be far less relevant to the policymaking process. The Administration and Congress say that want to move legislation this fall addressing certain causes of the financial crisis. I doubt they will succeed in doing so. At the same time, I think it’s essential that we contribute whatever useful information and analysis we can to those policymaking debates before they finish.

I surmise that most people in positions of power are not particularly excited that this commission exists. The Administration has already offered its policy proposals, and the President did not call for the creation of this commission. The Congressional committee chairs say they want to move legislation this Fall, and the regulatory agencies are beginning their bureaucratic jockeying for position. Many of the affected constituencies in the financial sector are thinking about how to play defense against the work that we do. Other than the Members of Congress who created this panel and a couple hundred million Americans who are justifiably furious with what happened last year in Washington and Wall Street, I’m not sure who wants us to succeed…"

Douglas Holtz-Eakin – Republican appointed, Mr. Holtz-Eakin is former Director of the Congressional Budget Office (2003-2005). Holtz-Eakin is an economist and professor and served as chief economic policy adviser to Senator McCain during his 2008 presidential campaign.