Public Markup

(b)(2) What contracting laws would be avoided by adhering to only the mentioned section?

Section 2 b2: Service contracts should adhere to all pertinent laws, i.e. no "no bid" contracts, no "no supervision" contracts, etc., as have been used to disastrous effect in Iraq.

Section 2 b3: Designating private financial institutions as "financial agents of the Government" must be subject to approvals beforehand and to Congressional review. Such designations must also have built-in termination, renewable only with Congressional approval.

Section 2 b4: Vehicles established by the Treasury Secretary must not circumvent existing laws and should be subject to Congressional oversight.

I'm sorry, I really am unable to believe we are doing this. The first response should have instantly been. Heeeeellllll NO! I guess that's why they tried to scare them so much so their brains weren't working. Maybe now they start to wake up. Please!!!

Let me get this straight: a bunch of overpaid investors do risky things, and simply because so many of them did so many risky things we have to bail them out? And, because so many Americans overextended themselves and bit off more than they could chew, we get to pay for their irresponsibility? How about bailing me out? I've been unemployed for nearly a year, but have kept my mortgage payments up to date by dipping into my IRA. I'm acting responsibly, but still get to pay for those who acted otherwise.

2(b)2: While the Secretary is busy handing out $700 billion to his friends on Wall Street, he will be required to follow ALL of the laws of the good ol' US-of-A, including open bidding and review processes.

2(b)3: If the Secretary finds it necessary to nationalize any financial institution, he will assure that the American taxpayer is protected by seeking equity positions and/or debt payback provisions that assure that any future profits of the financial institution are used to payback the initial taxpayer expenditures, including a fair rate of return.

Actually, this whole document needs to be scrapped. But if someone doesn't so say and mark up its most egregious contents, it might actually carry some undeserved weight in the final legislation. IMO the Treasury should not be writing self-serving bills on faux-crisis timeline like the one Sec Paulson tried to float over the weekend, giving Treas unlimited money and unlimited power, without oversight or consequences for screwing up things worse than they already are. Here's a novel approach: come to the peoples' representatives with the problem in a timely manner and let our representatives craft the solution. I call this concept "representative democracy" and was under the impression it was a foundation of our govt.

2.b.2 Scrap the authorization to enter into contracts that might be illegal under other contract laws,to avoid crazy legal entanglements down the road.

My additions, tongue only slightly in cheek for some:

2.(b)(1)(a) Employees or agents authorized, directed or otherwise caused to act under the authority of this act shall not be compensated for their services in any tangible form excepting US dollars drawn from the usual government payroll accounts. No such agent as above shall be provided compensation under this act in excess of $5,000 per month or totaling more than $120,000.

2.(b)(1)(b) All compensation to be dispensed to agents as defined in 2.(b)(1)(a) shall be publicly listed on the Secretary's website a minimum of 14 days prior to compensation being made. The listing shall consist of the amount of compensation and the identifier of the agent. After compensation is made related listings shall be updated to reflect the amount of the compensation and the date of remittance.

2.(b)(1)(c)Compensation listings as described in 2.(b)(1)(b) identifying nonhuman agents (including but not limited to corporations, trusts, committees, departments, foreign governments) shall include hyperlinks to a web page on the Secretary's website describing in detail the nature of the agent, and the identities and public contact information for the human persons who direct the actions of the agent.

2.(b)(1)(d)Any compensation paid under the authority of this Act which is not in compliance with 2.(b)(1)(a), 2.(b)(1)(b) and 2.(b)(1)(c) shall be deducted from the compensation paid to the Secretary and no further bonus, gift, adjustment, or income tax refund beyond the Secretary's base wage shall be paid or owed to the Secretary for a period of 2 years from the date the offending compensation payment is made.

2.(b)(6)(a) No action, regulation, authority, contract, agreement, definition or designation (herein, 'instrument') initiated, created, compelled, implied or hinted at by the Secretary or agents thereof under the authorities granted by this act shall exist for a term exceeding 30 days.

2(a) Authority to Purchase.The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions that will repay taxpayers before any and all other parties , mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.

Too many rules, if Paulson is really going to take care of us, sorry 'the problem', then this could be written like this:

a. Authority to Purchase. The Secretary can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants. Please don't ask questions.

Look at how much money we are saving, this would fit on one piece of paper, I bet the old rules took at least two. Now the bailout is only $699,999,999,999.99, excluding interest of course.

They made their bed, now they can sleep in it !!

What exactly happens to the failed mortgages? Maybe I missed it, but is the US Treasury going to become a collection agency with federal authority to recover individual home owner defaults? Do we want another arm of the IRS? I still feel strongly that centralized government, in any form, is wrong. Let the market do what the market does.

This problem has been unfolding since before the New Year and especially since May/June. When the US sneezes we here normally get a cold. In this instance our red light antenna went up and most of us went for fixed deposits with our four Banks with AA+ rating based on the 70% deposits to 30% property/shares/trusts ratio and we watch it all unfold. You are right not to trust your White house whose veracity is questionable. This whole affair has been drafted with indecent haste. It should be debated and restructured in your Congress on the basis of the very good comments put forward by the folk on this site. 1929 was the precursor of a war which started in 1939(42) for the US. Sectional interest should be shelved to get it right. First cab off the rank should be the Mortgage related assets which relate to the traumatic loss of residence by ordinary people who were hit by interest rate rises. Bail out the mortgagees first.