7/15/2009 4:39 PM ET
(RTTNews) -
Wednesday, Democrat and Republican Congressional leaders announced appointments to a 10-member commission that will investigate what led to the nation's financial crisis and the collapse of major financial institutions.
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission will have wide ranging subpoena power to investigate the crisis and is required to release a report by December 15, 2010.
Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, named six appointments to the panel. Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader John Boehner, announced four.
"The American people deserve nothing less than a full explanation of why so many people lost their homes, their life's savings and their hard earned pensions," Pelosi said in a statement released to the media.
The California congresswoman added that the commission would examine "failures in both government and financial markets" that led to the collapse in order to avoid a similar financial crisis in the future.
McConnell, a senator from Kentucky, agreed with Pelosi's sentiments, stressing that an understanding of what went wrong would also help to make our economy stronger.
"We in Congress must first understand the root cause of the problem before we act so we can be sure to enact policies that address the issue and strengthen our economy," he said.
Reid echoed his colleagues' sentiments and expressed confidence that the members of the panel will achieve the commission's goals.
"The men and women who we appoint to this commission must help the public gain a full understanding of why our system failed us in the past and I am confident that we have chosen the right people to lead that effort," the Nevada senator said.
Pelosi and Reid appointed former California State Treasurer Phil Angelides as the chairman of the panel, citing his "broad expertise and accomplishments in the fields of investor protection, housing, finance and corporate and financial market reform."
Angelides served as California State Treasurer from 1999-2007.
Former Florida Governor Bob Graham was also appointed by Reid, along with Heather Murren, former Managing Director for Global Securities Research and Economics at Merrill Lynch, and Las Vegas attorney and businessman Byron Georgiou.
Brooksley Born, former chair of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, and John W. Thompson, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Symantec Corporation, were appointed by Pelosi.
1
2
Next Page