The Senate reconvened reconciliation hearings at noon today with a deal brokered yesterday to place the new financial watchdog agency within the auspices of the Federal Reserve, rather than establishing an independent agency. This compromise by Congressional Democrats – which is engendering strong opposition from some important constituencies – could indicate a growing desperation to get something (anything, anything at all) in front of the President before his appearance at the G-20 this weekend. As someone who spends a good piece of my week (and some weekends) reading and writing documents that are intended to build a legal framework around unforeseeable real-word events, I can appreciate the utter impossibility of crafting legislation that will simply get it right the first time. I’ve learned this too many times: As complexities increase, the better can become the enemy of the good. Continue Reading Dodd’s Inferno
Volcker Rule
Reconciliation Time on the Hill: Be Very Afraid
By Rick Jones on
We’ve been promised that the House and Senate financial reform bills will be reconciled in a highly transparent and thoughtful way and be wrapped up and ready for the President’s signature by Independence Day.
I’m trying to be upbeat about this. There are, after all, substantial benefits to be obtained from certainty, and once this is done, we’ll at least have rules. We may not like them, but at least we’ll have rules. (OK, the final Bill will probably include dozens of referrals to the regulatory community to make the actual rules, but nothing’s perfect.). God only knows what to expect when our duly elected representatives, awash in populist outrage and with the clock ticking loudly down to election day, try their hands at making sense of these two ridiculously complicated 1,400 page bills. Barney Frank will manage the reconciliation process. Imagine, he has now been imbued with the hopes of the financial services community for a sensical and balanced Bill. Man bites dog. You can’t make this stuff up. Continue Reading Reconciliation Time on the Hill: Be Very Afraid