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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Jeb Hensarling, the top Republican on the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and the lone sitting member of Congress on the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner following press reports he “…blasted top U.S. financial regulators in an expletive-laced critique last Friday as frustration grows over the Obama Administration's faltering plan to overhaul U.S. financial regulation…”: Dear Mr. Secretary: I was alarmed at allegations that surfaced today regarding your purported intimidation of federal financial regulators, including Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, who had expressed their concerns about aspects of the President’s regulatory reform proposal. In addition to Chairman Bernanke, this group of regulators reportedly also included FDIC Chairman Shelia Bair, Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan, Office of Thrift Supervision Acting Director John Bowman, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler, and Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo. As reported in Wall Street Journal today, and apparently confirmed by several regulators during their testimony before the Senate Banking Committee this morning, last week you summoned these independent regulators to your offices and excoriated them for having voiced their concerns over the Administration’s restructuring plans. During the meeting, the Wall Street Journal reported that you “blasted” those present in an “expletive-laced critique” featuring the “repeated use of obscenities” and an “aggressive posture” designed to tell those regulators that “enough is enough.” Such attempted suppression of the judgment of independent regulators has no place in our or any other financial system, and is directly contrary to the Administration’s stated goals of increasing transparency and creating a safer, more stable economy. If these allegations are correct, I am gravely concerned that you would attempt to abuse your position to silence the expert opinions of the very public servants who are charged with ensuring the safety and soundness of our financial system. Federal regulators at the Fed, FDIC, SEC, OCC, CFTC, and OTS are statutorily designated as independent for a specific reason – so that they can provide unbiased assessments to Members of Congress and the public regarding the health of our financial system. Any attempt to intimidate these officials from speaking their minds or to suppress their concerns on issues affecting their agencies because it does not fit into your Administration’s political agenda would be a significant abrogation of the public’s trust and a substantial deviation from the Administration’s commitment to transparency. Thus, I request that you provide an explanation of the nature of this meeting, including what if any limits you attempted to place on these officials as well as a written explanation of Treasury’s internal policies and procedures with respect to its interaction with these independent agencies. Sincerely, JEB HENSARLING ### |