financial reform

Momentum is building for putting a historic conference between the House and Senate online and on live television, as they debate the future of financial reform. This is the time to contact Senators and Representatives to support this critical step toward open government - and a stronger, fairer, safer economy.

Yesterday we asked conservatives to join with progressives in calling for the House/Senate financial reform conference to be broadcast on live television. We pointed out that this would be consistent with the spirit of the GOP's "Sunlight Resolution," and with a number of conservative calls to avoid "backroom" deals as health reform was being finalized. We also pointed out that a broadcast of this kind would weaken the influence of bank lobbyists, which means we're likely to get better legislation.

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Here are the words they used for health care reform (or the buzzwords their consultants told them to use): "Secret"! "Backroom"! "Behind closed doors"! "Dealing"! Or, as one especially unsubtle pol put it, "secret backroom dealing"!

These right-wing politicians and activists had a zeal for open government when they demanded that the House and Senate reconcile their health-care reform bills in public. Let's hope they show the same dedication to transparency now that financial reform's on the table. The House and Senate negotiations should be broadcast on live television, and conservatives should join the call to demand it.

Maybe we'll even get Glenn Beck to join us. (Hey, it could happen.)

This is a critical time: Bank are spending big bucks to influence the outcome of the House/Senate conference. As the head of the American Bankers Association put it, “We are going to have to try and clean up as much of this as we can" during the conference process. And if there's one thing banks know how to do, it's "clean up" - at your expense. more »

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Thursday night's passage of Wall Street reform by the U.S. Senate is an event to be celebrated, but several key issues remain in play as the House and Senate seek to iron out differences between their respective versions of the legislation. more »

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Turning conflicts of interest into "win/win" situations can be a form of brilliance. Pretending those conflicts don't exist can be a form of indifference. That's why it was troubling to hear the President say today that financial reform "is not a zero sum game where Wall Street loses and Main Street wins. As we've learned in today's economy, we're all connected." True - but a connection can either be a lifeline or the rope that drags you down. more »

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Few realized it at the time, but Senator Chris Dodd's political career ended on June 12, 2008. more »

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Some version of Wall Street reform is going to pass the Senate this week. The question now is how strong that reform will be. There are still three crucial battles to be waged, all of which would significantly change the way Wall Street does business. We will not fix Wall Street with this round of legislation, but we can reduce taxpayer exposure to bailouts and rein in consumer banking abuses. more »

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PowerPoints, emails, and transcripts obtained by Sen. Carl Levin's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations illustrate the real magnitude of Sen. Al Franken's victory today. Sen. Franken was able to pass an amendment which eliminates the conflict of interest that's created when ratings agencies "compete for business." It passed the Senate in a 64/35 vote - and it was a bipartisan victory, no less, with 10 Republicans joining 54 Dems to support it.

Here's how broken our current system has become: Not only are the ratings agencies competing as for-profit businesses, but our two largest agencies are publicly traded companies. more »

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Two-hundred and forty former legislators, bank committee staffers, and Treasury officials deployed to lobby. $600 million spent in lobbying, trade association activity and political contributions since March 2008. And that is just from the six biggest banks. The entire financial industry is spending an estimated $1.4 million a day, hiring 70 former members of Congress to make their case.

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