The public comment period for this legislation has ended.

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

8 section comments

Title I - Troubled Assets Relief Program

Sec. 104. Financial Stability Oversight Board.

  1. ESTABLISHMENT.There is established the Financial Stability Oversight Board, which shall be responsible for




    1. reviewing the exercise of authority under a program developed in accordance with this Act, including




      1. policies implemented by the Secretary and the Office of Financial Stability created under sections 101 and 102, including the appointment of financial agents, the designation of asset classes to be purchased, and plans for the structure of vehicles used to purchase troubled assets; and




      2. the effect of such actions in assisting American families in preserving home ownership, stabilizing financial markets, and protecting taxpayers;






    2. making recommendations, as appropriate, to the Secretary regarding use of the authority under this Act; and




    3. reporting any suspected fraud, misrepresentation, or malfeasance to the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Assets Relief Program or the Attorney General of the United States, consistent with section 535(b) of title 28, United States Code.






  2. MEMBERSHIP.The Financial Stability Oversight Board shall be comprised of




    1. the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;




    2. the Secretary;




    3. the Director of the Federal Home Finance Agency;




    4. the Chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission; and




    5. the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.






  3. CHAIRPERSON.The chairperson of the Financial Stability Oversight Board shall be elected by the members of the Board from among the members other than the Secretary.




  4. MEETINGS.The Financial Stability Oversight Board shall meet 2 weeks after the first exercise of the purchase authority of the Secretary under this Act, and monthly thereafter.




  5. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.In addition to the responsibilities described in subsection (a), the Financial Stability Oversight Board shall have the authority to ensure that the policies implemented by the Secretary are




    1. in accordance with the purposes of this Act;




    2. in the economic interests of the United States; and




    3. consistent with protecting taxpayers, in accordance with section 112(a).






  6. CREDIT REVIEW COMMITTEE.The Financial Stability Oversight Board may appoint a credit review committee for the purpose of evaluating the exercise of the purchase authority provided under this Act and the assets acquired through the exercise of such authority, as the Financial Stability Oversight Board determines appropriate.




  7. REPORTS.The Financial Stability Oversight Board shall report to the appropriate committees of Congress and the Congressional Oversight Panel established under section 125, semiannually, on the matters described under subsection (a)(1).




  8. TERMINATION.The Financial Stability Oversight Board, and the authority of the Oversight Board under this section, shall terminate on the expiration of the 15-day period beginning upon the later of




    1. the date that the last troubled asset acquired by the Secretary under section 101 has been sold or transferred out of the ownership or control of the Federal Government; or




    2. the date of expiration of the last insurance contract issued under section 102.

General Comments on Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

Lynne Baker on September 29, 2008

So now the foxes are IN CHARGE of the henhouse. Really GREAT idea, Congress..and BTW, where in this entire bill, are any consequences, if the "regulating people" don't do it right?

This is the sorriest excuse for an American legislation I have ever seen. I can NOT believe you trust these people to do anything correctly.

You are WRONG to pass this act. It is not even a Bill, and is HORRIBLE.

JUST SAY NO.

DAS2 on September 29, 2008

I am deeply troubled by the amount of oversight responsibility given to the financial stability oversight board that consists of way few too many members. This arrangement is not unlike FEMA, FCC< and the FDA too much work, not enough manpower. As a result corruption occurs...think about it do wen want anther "program " like that?

Nathanael Nerode on October 1, 2008

Right, so the oversight board (1) has no power to actually stop Paulson from doing anything; (2) actually contains Paulson, "overseeing" himself; (3) Consists entirely of Bush appointees.

This isn't an oversight board, it's a farce.

Julie Stucky on October 2, 2008

I bet "Special Inspector General" will be a peachy job (kinda like the Maytag man) ... "reporting any suspected fraud, misrepresentation, or malfeasance to the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Assets Relief Program"

Julie Stucky on October 2, 2008

So, they can choose if they want to audit themselves or not; surely, a committe of well paid Bush cronies (more peachy jobs):

CREDIT REVIEW COMMITTEE. The Financial Stability Oversight Board may appoint a credit review committee for the purpose of evaluating the exercise of the purchase authority provided under this Act and the assets acquired through the exercise of such authority, as the Financial Stability Oversight Board determines appropriate.

Jack/newjacktimes.blogspot.com on October 22, 2008

We should all feel better knowing that the Secretary will be overseeing himself. I can just imagine watching CSPAN and he's running back and forth from one side of the room to the other... "Mr. Secretary do you feel this was a necessary purchase" responds "Yes." They smash the gavel and move on to the next order of business.

I've broken down some of the Bill on my Blog http://newjacktimes.blogspot.com>

Robert Sknner, Sequoia Group on November 14, 2008

This is very sad.

Transparency promised in two day after purchase. Two trillion goes out the US Fed Window and not a whisper. Bloomberg filed a "Freedom of Information Act" request. We are waiting. This law says reports are to be posted within two days after.

I hope this law is repelled.

Lisa P,Blogging team on November 20, 2008

The huge crisis in the United States is the biggest problem in the nation. Treasury Secretary Paulson’s Troubled Asset Relief Program was not the kind of credit repair scores the endangered homeowners needed. However, a new mortgage program is underway. Thanks to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair, 1.5 million homeowners will have a sturdy backbone when they’re facing foreclosure. This $24.4 billion program will be drawn from the $700 billion pool that TARP set up. With this straightforward system, lenders will be given a fixed amount of $1,000 per loan they renegotiate with financially stuck homeowners. In addition, the FDIC has promised to take on up to 50 percent of the loss in the event of a default on a loan. While others view the action on Bair’s part as a needed investment to maintain liquidity in the mortgage industry, Paulson has predestined this as mere spending that will only bankrupt the FDIC. Although this will no doubt require a lot of time to solve, it’s definitely a noble effort to help repair credit.http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/what-is-credit-repair/