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Senators Introduce Legislation to Eliminate SEC FOIA Exemption
What can we say: it would be flagrantly criminal if the most incompetent and corrupt organization in the world was allowed to be unaccountable to anyone, least of all the US citizen. Our respect to Senators Leahy, Cornyn and Kaufman and Grassley for doing what is so obviously right, we are stunned only four senators ended up sponsoring legislation proposed by the Senate Judiciary Committee to strike the FOIA exemption for the SEC. Full press release below.
WASHINGTON (Thursday, August 5, 2010) – Leading members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday introduced legislation to strike Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemptions for the Securities and Exchange Commission that were included in the recently enacted Wall Street Reform. The bipartisan legislation is sponsored by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
The bill introduced Thursday will eliminate the FOIA exemption for certain records provided to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law on July 21. The bill also clarifies that hedge funds and other new entities that the SEC will regulate under the Wall Street reform law will be considered “financial institutions” for the purposes of applying FOIA Exemption 8. The bill will ensure that the SEC can treat sensitive information provided by hedge funds to the Commission in connection with the SEC’s examination and surveillance activities in the same manner as the Commission treats such information when it is provided by other financial institutions.
“When Congress enacted these exemptions, it sought to ensure that the SEC had access to the information that the Commission needed to carry out its new enforcement powers and to protect American investors – not to shield information from the public,” said Leahy. “I have been troubled by the sweeping interpretation that the Commission has expressed, to date, that these exemptions would shield all information provided to the Commission in connection with its broad examination and surveillance activities. This legislation would amend the law to eliminate several broad FOIA exemptions for SEC records that were recently enacted as part of the Wall Street reform law.”
“If anything, the financial crisis and the wave of financial frauds we have seen over the past few years call for more transparency at the SEC, not less,” said Cornyn. “I am alarmed that the financial regulatory reform bill appears to have excluded the SEC from the Freedom of Information Act’s (‘FOIA’) disclosure requirements. The FOIA strikes a careful and workable balance between the need for confidentiality and the American people’s right to know about the workings of their government. The SEC should play by the same rules of transparency as every other government agency.”
“This bill promotes greater transparency at the SEC and in our financial markets by narrowing an overly broad FOIA exemption in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act,” said Kaufman. “This is the sort of fine tuning that follows every piece of major legislation.”
“By exempting the SEC from Freedom of Information Act requirements, the new law lets Wall Street and the SEC continue to avoid scrutiny and accountability,” Grassley said. “Our legislation will help plug this glaring hole in the new financial regulation law.”
The Senators are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy and Cornyn are longtime leaders in strengthening and protecting the Freedom of Information Act, the nation’s premier open government and transparency law.
On Wednesday, Leahy, Cornyn, Kaufman and Grassley also joined together to send a letter to Mary Schapiro <http://judiciary.senate.gov/resources/documents/111thCongress/upload/080410Leahy-Cornyn-Grassley-KaufmanToSchapiro.pdf> , the chair of the SEC, urging her to issue guidelines narrowly interpreting the FOIA exemptions included in the Wall Street reform law. A PDF of the letter is available online.
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i am lost, the same senat aproves it, than few clouns playing good cop bad cop and trying to overturn?
Am i missing anything...?
It was so obscure that no one noticed it, as it was secretly inserted. Even Denninger, who read the entire 2300 pages, missed it.
FoxNews only discovered it when the organization sent a FOIA to the SEC and it was denied based upon this new law.
Surely you don't think the lawmakers actually read the 2300 pages...
not really a good excuse. these senators are way too careless about passing whatever obama or frankendodd want.
repeal all obama legislation
No doubt!
When it's open that we pass bills without reading them you'd think that people would acknowledge that we have a bunch of criminals and banksters running the show. Just make up a good name like "Save the Children and Build America Act" 20,000 pages of handouts and slavery.
Even they openly say they don't know whats in it "We need to pass it to find out whats in it". I really hope that the reasons Americans don't do antyhing is the drugging in food and water because we are well past the point of crazy.
"Save the Infant Pandas and Pregnant Teenage Whales" On second thought maybe all the fat senators will object
"maybe all the fat senators will object"
Hahaha. When I was younger I had a bumper sticker on my truck that read "Save A Whale, Harpoon A Fat Chick". Needless to say, I got a lot of (irate) comments about that! Guess who compained the most?
It was so obscure that no one noticed it, as it was secretly inserted.
True! A 23 year old I know nothing staffer inserts it, no one catches it, and it becomes law of the land. There is something very wrong with legislation that requires 2300 pages. The Holy Bible isn't that big.
Hmmm that gives me an idea. I get picked up as a staffer, draft the "Shameful gets paid" provision along with "Shameful is sexiest man alive" rule and slide those bad boys in. Genius at work!
"Shameful gets paid in physical gold"
Fixed it for ya'.
"What can we say: it would be flagrantly criminal if the most incompetent and corrupt organization in the world was allowed to be unaccountable to anyone, least of all the US citizen."
Oh. For a second there I thought you were referring to the Federal Reserve.....
I would say the Federal Reserve as well.
hey it's a start....
So what is this new report about Social security and medicare being a-ok?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/05/medicare-gets-new-lease-o_n_671...
Gosh, that really took a lot concentration and hard thinking to read that Huffington article. Please, people, attach a warning to your urls for such articles: "Warning, PhD required!"
Time for another flash crash to show everyone who runs Bartertown.
that's no secret! MasterBlaster runs Bartertown! and congress are the guys in the basement shovelling pig shit
The reins of power will not be taken away this easily.
How can we find out , who exactly insert that provision to the bill and who lobby for it?
names?
It will need 60 votes to pass. Will Cornyn and Grassley vote FOR it or will they just vote NO? Stay tuned.......
It needs 51 votes to pass. 60 is needed to stop a filibuster, aka debate technique which is used to prevent a vote from happening. This isn't that bad, so you won't need 60.
If Cornyn votes to allow the SEC Exemption, I'm going to go call his office every 30 minutes and complain until I get a restraining order for harassment.
Senator John Cornym is an incumbant. He voted YES for TARP, which translates to a NO vote for re-election (at least in my book).
I informed him of this many, many times during the debate on TARP. I sent e-mail, faxes and written letters.
What a farce we live in. The regulatory agency renown for corruption and failure has immunity from FOIA, and now the senate is thinking about letting us serfs try to once the legal mambo to peer into the black hole.
we live in a system that is best described with a number of words that begin with the letter "F." It is not a "surprise" that only four members of an organization that is bought and sold by a corrupt financial system would support an open financial regulatory record. Still, it IS amazing how blatant this corruption has become. Maybe history shows this pattern as systems and empires over extend, fall apart, get desperate, and grab what's left?
This is the crux of my real anger, that they do not respect us enough to conceal their crimes, so in effect we are publicly submitting to them. They operate in the open with their criminality. It tells the world that they don't care if the serfs know about their crimes, they are so far above the masses that they are as concerned about the actions of the serfs as much as a butcher is concerned about a cows actions.
When history records this time it will show that America willing submitted to this as it was everywhere to see. History will recount how we went along with everything with nary a whimper. They have gone so far already I actually doubt there is anything Americans would not put up with as long as there is beer, TV, and porn.
Lets see how DoNk and McSellout vote.
Let's make this simple....
Let's have a count of ex SEC employees and what companies they transitioned to....especially law firms....and the larger IBs....along with the change in pay....
Here-within lies the problem.....This is where Fascism lives....
Solution is very simple....no crossover allowed for 5 years.....
Disagree. No crossover for life. If i have a guaranteed landing spot at Goldman Sachs five years after I save their bacon, I'll wait.
Start offering bonuses to govt investigators who get a conviction--and give them 10% of the fines--and a lifetime ban on employment at any financial institution.
Then watch the game change overnight.
(( What can we say: it would be flagrantly criminal if the most incompetent and corrupt organization in the world was allowed to be unaccountable to anyone, least of all the US citizen ))
Nearly right. #1 is the so-called United Nations. Maybe the SEC comes second. The UN is the ultimate parasite.
regards
If the Senators and Representatives did not read the bill, then who wrote it? Don't put this onto Obama or some insignificant aides, we all know that the lobbyists wrote this legislation. Until this changes, we are f*cked (again and again)!
I want to know what pond scum inserted that language in the first place! Time for an old fashioned old west lynching!
WHAT A LOAD OF WANK. When are the proles going to wake up?
NEVER, not while there is Nascar / UFC and booze.
Interesting SP500 chart ...
http://stockmarket618.wordpress.com
Grassley has also been taking Goldman Sachs and other big banks to task by inquiring about BAB originiation fees. These fees are much higher than other muni bonds, costing the taxpayer a premium. Also, the BABs are being used by the government to surreptitiously force an IRS audit upon municipalities, as an excuse to uncover "back taxes" in order to fund a now broke, inept, and corrupt federal government.
I guess it might be worth it to some, who desire an American royal family like Michelle Marie Antoinette Obama, so she can have lavish vacations in Spain, while telling unemployed Americans to go out and spend what they don't have. In my opinion, it's disgraceful. One of the aspects I admire most about America is that we have no royalty, to prevent inbred elites thinking they have an ordained right to play god.
"we have no royalty"?
Ruling class isn't going to wear crowns when they walk around so we can spot them. Trust me, there's royalty in this country, and they got TARP funds from the U.S. middle class, despite the U.S. middle class howling in protest.
As the IRS might say: "you don't have to kneel, but you DO have to pay."
Precisely, that's why this country is in so much trouble.
There are certainly a lot of details like that to take into consideration.I read and understand the entire article and I really enjoyed it to be honest.
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