By Syreeta L. McNeal, CPA, JD
United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stated that “No one (in Congress) knows what to do” regarding the financial market crisis caused by the subprime mortgage debacle.[1] So since the Democratic led Congress has no clue what to do, they believe that they should adjourn and leave the crisis to the Department of Treasury and other federal agencies.
Let me get this straight, our elected officials of both parties in Congress don’t believe they can hold congressional hearings to discover the root of the problem and then allow financial experts to give solutions, on the record, so the American public will see that their tax payer’s dollars are being used effectively?
Something is fishy with Congress’s lack of trying to be proactive and address the financial issue at hand. This should not be a partisan issue between two warring parties. This is a financial crisis where people should not be going on vacation. Leaders should proactively address the issue before them and give a variety of solutions to have people act on them and pass legislation that will minize the crisis. Congress should have congressional hearings to actively have people testify about the root of the financial problem. Congress can use the power of subpoena to investigate and get solutions, on the public record. This will show that Congress is working for the American people and not just wasting our tax payer’s dollars.
Congress can have the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and other federal agencies crack down on these issues and hold the accounting firms auditing these companies like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, American International Group, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, and others accountable. From various news reports, it looks like the subprime mortgage debacle is actually a fraudulent pyramid scheme that needed oversight and regulation by the federal government agencies and Congress. But, when you have congressional members such as Senator Chris Dodd, Senator Barack Obama, and Senator John Kerry who were the top three largest beneficiaries of financial donations from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, I understand why the Democratic led Congress does not want to hold hearings. Most of the congressional members will have to recuse themselves from participating in the hearings because of their own conflict of interest with these companies. As a result, it would probably be impossible for enough congressional members to hold a hearing.
So, the Democratic version of the Do-Nothing Congress is still in effect. This is not leadership at all. This is not what people elected this Congress in 2006 to do. The ones who are suffering ultimately are the American people. May God help us all.
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