Financial Reform: Transparency by Choice or by Luck?

Friday, June 25, 2010 10:42 AM

Early this morning, the conference committee wrapped up its final meeting on the financial regulatory reform package. While we haven’t been able to pore over the whole thing yet, we do know changes were made to expand somewhat the Audit the Fed language, hopefully increasing transparency for the central bank. Changes were also made that would amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to exempt small businesses from some of its onerous reporting requirements. We hope to have more information on the scope and reach of these provisions when the text becomes available.

Sunlight Foundation is reporting Rep. Barney Frank has promised the bill will be online for “at least 68 hours” for taxpayers to digest before a vote is taken. While this is certainly an improvement over the lightning-fast legislating we have seen from this Congress, a rhetorical nod by Rep. Frank that the bill will be available for less than three days over a weekend is not exactly ideal. First, the commitment to a transparent and open process needs to come from the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi – she has pledged to put bills online for at least 72 hours before scheduling them for a vote, but we have yet to see this promise actualized in any consistent way. Second, “68 hours” is not nearly enough time for taxpayers to access, read and register an opinion with their Congressman on such an expansive piece of legislation. Couple these items with the fact that this promise of increased transparency may be by luck of the draw that the committee finished its work on a weekend, and we’re dubious this will amount to a robust precedent of openness and accountability. That being said, the bill, H.R. 4173, is supposed to be up tomorrow morning. So if you’re looking for something to read this weekend, give it a look.

Tags: Transparency BudgetTimeouts Federal | Comments (8)

Reader Comments: