[progchat_action] Angry Congress lashes out at Obama
Steven Robinson
Caucus - as well as Republicans. And contrary to the article lead,
members of both party are demanding the resignation of the hapless
Secretary of Treasury, Timmy Geitner, who easily qualifies as the
most unpopular and least successful cabinet official since Donald
Rumsfeld. SR)
Angry Congress lashes out at Obama Economic Woes Taking A Toll House
Republicans call on Geithner to resign
By Brady Dennis, Zachary A. Goldfarb and Neil Irwin Washington Post
Staff Writer Friday, November 20, 2009
Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts
to speed its recovery boiled over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a
wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama
administration.
Episodes in both houses of Congress exposed the raw nerves of
lawmakers flooded with stories of unemployment and economic hardship
back home. They also underscored the stiff headwinds that the
administration faces as it pushes to enact sweeping changes to the
financial regulatory system while also trying to create jobs for
ordinary Americans.
President Obama's allies in the Congressional Black Caucus, exasperated
by the administration's handling of the economy, unexpectedly blocked
one his top priorities, using a legislative maneuver to postpone
the approval of financial reform legislation by a key House committee.
Two buildings away, at a session of the Joint Economic Committee,
Republicans escalated their attacks on Treasury Secretary Timothy
F. Geithner, including a call for his resignation.
"Conservatives agree that as point person, you failed. Liberals are
growing in that consensus as well," said Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.).
"For the sake of our jobs, will you step down from your post?"
Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Tex.) took a different tack. "I don't
think that you should be fired," he told Geithner. "I thought you
should have never been hired."
Even Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), a friend of the administration,
suggested that Geithner had been inconsistent in addressing China's
practice of keeping its currency low against the dollar.
And Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said Wednesday on MSNBC that he
thinks Geithner should step down, pointing to his handling of the
aftermath of American International Group's meltdown.
Across Capitol Hill, senators signaled their opposition to rushing
regulatory reform. While some Democrats voiced reservations about
parts of the bill, Republicans went further, faulting Sen. Christopher
J. Dodd (D-Conn.) for pushing ahead before the roots of the crisis
were understood.
Perhaps most troubling for the administration was that one of the
few measures to succeed Thursday was an amendment by Rep. Ron Paul
(R-Tex.) that would subject the Federal Reserve to unprecedented
scrutiny. The amendment, which won bipartisan support in the House
Financial Services Committee despite the reservations of administration
officials, would allow the Government Accountability Office to audit
all of the Fed's operations, including its decisions on interest
rates and its transactions with foreign central banks.
Paul and allies in both parties -- more than 300 members of Congress
have endorsed the measure -- are looking to increase oversight of
an institution they consider partly to blame for the financial
crisis. Federal officials and many private economists worry that
the amendment could make future central bank policymakers reluctant
to take unpopular steps to prevent inflation or support the economy
for fear of second-guessing by Congress and government auditors.
The House committee had been set to vote to send the final piece
of its regulatory reform package to the House floor after months
of debate. That is, until the committee's chairman, Rep. Barney
Frank (D-Mass.), told a shocked committee room that passage of the
bill would be delayed until Dec. 1 because the Congressional Black
Caucus wanted the administration to do more to help African American
communities suffering in the economic decline.
Frank told committee members that black lawmakers were "frustrated
by the response to the economic situation by the administration."
He said the caucus had no issues with the legislation itself. "They
want obviously to continue to have some bargaining power with the
administration," he said after the hearing.
he caucus itself did not publicly detail its concerns Thursday, but
one member, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), issued a statement: "The
recession has created a unique systemic risk that threatens all
parts of the African-American community, including the poor and the
middle class."
The caucus began discussing its concerns with Frank and the
administration several weeks ago. Frank hosted a meeting Monday
night between caucus members, Geithner and White House Chief of
Staff Rahm Emanuel.
"You're talking about people whose constituents have been badly
hammered by this," Frank said. "Given the nature of this recession,
there needs to be some more conversations."
Frank said the caucus had concerns about whether minorities were
being fairly represented in helping carry out Treasury's bailout
programs and other federal efforts to resolve the financial crisis.
The government has contracted out much of the work to Wall Street
firms.
Congressional aides said the caucus's concerns are similar to those
of the Democratic Party's liberal wing. Caucus members are pushing
for legislation that would directly lead to new jobs by providing
tax benefits, for example, that would provide incentives for home
renovations and funding for new infrastructure projects. They also
want to extend health-care and unemployment benefits.
Meanwhile, Geithner was taking a beating as he urged Congress to
pass regulatory reform as quickly as possible, arguing that delay
would create uncertainty for businesses across the country. Lawmakers
sharply criticized him for his role in the crisis during the tense
Joint Economic Committee meeting. They were particularly critical
of his involvement in the decision, as president of the New York
Fed, to bail out AIG.
But Geithner pressed forward: "To ensure the vitality, the strength
and the stability of our economy going forward, we must bring our
system of financial regulation into the 21st century. Nobody in my
job should ever be in the position again of having to come into a
crisis like this without those basic authorities."
Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, chose the marbled
Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building -- site of past
hearings on Watergate, Pearl Harbor and the Wall Street abuses
during the Great Depression -- to open debate on a massive draft
bill designed to achieve the most ambitious reworking of the financial
system in decades.
"This is one of those moments in our nation's history that compels
us to be bold," Dodd said.
But soon, ranking committee Republican Richard C. Shelby (Ala.)
took the floor, and for 18 uninterrupted minutes he opined that
nearly every element of Dodd's bill was misinformed, uninformed,
unnecessarily rushed or just plain flawed. "This committee has not
done the necessary work to even begin discussing changes of this
magnitude. Nevertheless, you have laid a bill before the committee,"
Shelby said. "I will be opposing this legislation. Not because we
disagree on its ends, but rather on its means."
Shelby said Dodd was wrong not to conduct an investigation into the
causes of the recent financial crisis before pushing forward with
legislation. He said rather than ending the problem of institutions
that are "too big to fail," the current bill expands the government's
ability to bail out big banks. Shelby apologized for the length of
his critique, expressed his hope that the two men might "yet find
some common ground," and yielded the floor.
"Well," Dodd said in the morning's only moment of levity, "I thank
you for the endorsement."
Staff writer David Cho contributed to this report.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/19/AR20091119031
67.html?sid=ST2009111903338
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