Public Markup

These industries spent roughly $2 billion on federal political contributions since 1989 and another $3 billion on lobbying Congress since 1998. How about a prohibition, or strict scrutiny, or full and complete transparency on lobbying on behalf of companies looking to receive any of the bailout? What about, as a condition of receiving the bailout, companies agree in exchange to not make expenditures meant to influence elections? Or an audit of the political influence wielded by Wall Street? Or an investigation about how their campaign contributions helped lead us down this disastrous and costly path?

I don't think audits or investigations are on point for markup of a bill.

I'm worried about the timing; 120 days is a long time in a crisis, and it's clear that Treasury is an old boy's network from Goldman Sachs anyhow.

How about an absolute prohibition, from the get go, of hiring contractors or advisors from (a) any firm already bailed out and (b) any firm on the list of firms that can't be shorted?

Yes, that may rule out a lot of Wall Street "experts." And that would be bad why?

I agree with both donnelly's and strether's comments & no contractors shall have any employees having worked for any entity receiving bail-out from this act for the last 5 years.

Conflict of interest rules should be written and upheld by a wider range of individuals more representative of US citizenry than Mr. Secretary is. I do not trust that he or others in this administration would adequately police this.

Also, to a point made above, is promulgation within 120 days sufficiently quick to prevent conflicts of interest from arising and being acted upon?

Compensation should be reduced to reflect the down-turn in the market (SP DJ NASDQ,etc). All executives above management level should have compensation reduced a minimum of 25 percent, and all savings thus realized shall be placed in an interest bearing fund to offset tax base for those earning less than 70K per year.

So the Secretary is going to police him(her)self?

This is the fox guarding the henhouse! Who will oversee the Secretary to ensure he or she is not taking bribes and kickbacks for bailouts?

This whole bill is a conflict of interest. But, I agree with Greg but would have a maximum of 20 percent with what we are currently going through.

Nobody on the public side involved in the administration, management, sale, or acquisition of troubled assets shall be eligible to work for an institution that received assistance for a period of ten years from the time the institution received the assistance.

That includes but is not limited to the Secretary, his/her staff, the assistant secretary in charge of the special office, and his/her staff, the oversight board and their staffs, any employees of firms appointed to administer the plan, or employees of consulting firms, and so on.

Any firm that employs a former public worker in the assistance program is prohibited from merging with or acquiring another company that received assistance while that former public worker was active in the assistance program.

The folks doling out the money or profiting from the logistics of the assistance operation should NOT be allowed to subsequently work for a company that benefited from the assistance until well after the dust has settled. It seems like common sense.

In a nutshell, I am proposing a moratorium of approximately ten years on the infamous revolving door between Washington and Wall Street.