Sense on Cents

The law firm of Wilmer Hale recently released the following statement:

CONGRESS TO ESTABLISH FINANCIAL CRISIS INQUIRY COMMISSION
May 7, 2009    

By Reginald J. Brown, Jamie Gorelick, Anne Harkavy, Randolph D. Moss, William R. McLucas, Howard M. Shapiro, Michael J. Sharp,Matthew A. Chambers 

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed S. 386, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, by a 367-59 vote. Among other things, S. 386 establishes a Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (the “Commission”), with broad authority to examine the domestic and global causes of the current U.S. financial and economic crisis. The Senate passed a similar bill in late April and final passage, most likely of the House version, is expected soon.

Under both versions of the bill, the Commission will have roughly 18 months to investigate the circumstances that led to the financial crisis and issue a report to Congress with its findings and recommendations. The Commission will have broad investigative authority, including subpoena power, and the ability to refer any evidence of criminal activity to the U.S. Attorney General and state attorneys general. Other key provisions, as described in the House bill, include the following:

Membership:

The Commission will have ten members, who must be private citizens and may not be employed by any government entity. [§ 5(b)(2)(B)] Commission members will be appointed as follows: Three each appointed by the Speaker and Senate Majority Leader; two each appointed by the minority leaders in the House and Senate. [§ 5(b)(1)(A-D)] The Chair and Vice Chair must be from different parties and will be selected jointly by the respective leaders. [§ 5(b)(3)] Members are expected to be prominent U.S. citizens with national recognition and depth of experience in fields such as banking, regulation of markets, taxation, finance, economics, consumer protection and housing. [§ 5(b)(2)(A)] (more…)