Tag: Richard Shelby

Thankfully, Financial Reform appears to be back in play again. This little News Item today, indicates a “strategic pivot” is about to occur:

Obama presses for financial reform

Mar 25, 2010 – Reuters

Financial regulation reform vaulted to the top of President Barack Obama’s post-healthcare agenda on Wednesday, with both Democrats and Republicans upbeat about passing legislation soon.

After a meeting with Obama, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said the president wants results soon from Congress on proposals to tighten U.S. government oversight of banks and the capital market.

[…]

“We’re going to get a bill done,” Dodd told reporters outside the White House. He was joined by fellow Democrat Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee who said the issue will be Congress’ No. 1 concern after a two-week Easter break.

[…]

Pivoting from their victory this week on healthcare reform, Democrats are pushing hard for a crackdown on risky bank practices, over-the-counter derivatives, credit rating agencies and other segments of the financial sector, with the aim of preventing another crisis.

[…]

 

Over the past 16 months, what members of Congress knew and when did they know it has slowly emerged in newspaper accounts. Four select members of Congress were notified in September 2002 when the CIA gave a secret high level briefing regarding the use of “harsh interrogation” and “overseas detention sites”.

U.S. law requires Congress be informed of covert activities, but allows for limited access to briefings in sensitive matters. In this meeting, four members of Congress were informed. They were Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Porter Goss, and Senators Bob Graham and Richard Shelby. The ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees sometimes described as the “Gang of Four”.

According to the Washington Post in December 2007, the four Congress members raised no objections to the “interrogation” techniques described, including waterboarding.