by Zach Carter | May 19, 2010 | Blog, Financial Reform
Few realized it at the time, but Senator Chris Dodd's political career ended on June 12, 2008. That day, Portfolio magazine published its blistering expose on Countrywide Financial's "Friends of Angelo" program, naming the Democrat from Connecticut as one of the top...
by Zach Carter | May 18, 2010 | Blog, Financial Reform
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...
by Zach Carter | May 13, 2010 | Blog, Financial Reform
The top Republican fundraiser in the Senate, John Cornyn of Texas, just gave a preposterous speech on Wall Street reform in which he pushed the plan recently promoted recently by disgraced J.P. Morgan Economist James Glassman. Cornyn is opposing the use of a...
by Zach Carter | May 12, 2010 | Blog, Financial Reform
There are two consumer protection amendments getting serious attention on the Senate floor this week, one of them positive, one of them incredibly destructive. Both revolve around the concept of "preemption"—the ability of federal regulators to block states from...
by Robert Borosage | May 11, 2010 | Blog, Financial Reform
240 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...
by Zach Carter | May 11, 2010 | Blog, Financial Reform
The Senate approved an amendment from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that would subject the Federal Reserve's bailout operations to a one-time audit. The vote was 96 - 0 in favor of the measure. A stronger audit, sponsored by Reps. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., and Ron Paul,...
