DEAN BAKER
Pecora Commission II: Super-Sleuths or Keystone Cops? Congress will be appointing a special commission to investigate the causes of the economic crisis and to determine who is to blame. Unfortunately, there is a real possibility that the commission appointed by Congress may follow a different precedent. Instead of striving to uncover the truth, it may seek to conceal it.

ROBERT KUTTNER
Pecora Whirling huffingtonpost.com - Finalists are being considered for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, the investigative body created by Congress to launch a full-scale investigation of the financial crisis in the spirit of the famous early 1930s hearings led by Ferdinand Pecora. Those famous investigative hearings produced the facts and momentum for the major New Deal financial reforms. Progressives have a lot of work to do in a few short days while nominees are being finalized, before the moment is lost.

Will Pecora Commission Have Teeth?
The Hill reports: "House and Senate leaders, responsible for naming all 10 members of the panel, say an announcement could come as early as this week so that the panel, with broad subpoena power, can begin looking into the causes of the crisis ... But the panel ... is off to a slow start and may have a limited impact as the administration and Congress aim by the end of 2009 to complete the biggest overhaul of the financial system since the Great Depression ... Former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.) and former Republican Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (Calif.) are among those who have been considered ... On the Democratic side, there has been discussion about Erskine Bowles, White House chief of staff under President Clinton, and Brooksley Born, former head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)."; Pushback against Consumer Financial Protection Agency. NYT: "Banks and mortgage lenders are placing top priority on killing President Obama's proposal to create a new consumer protection agency that would regulate home loans, credit card fees, payday loans and other forms of consumer finance."; CNN/Money.com rounds up congressional criticisms: "Republicans openly blasted the idea. 'What's troubling is that ... a panel of consumer experts couldn't even agree amongst themselves what financial products rose to the level of being anti-consumer,' Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said in a statement Tuesday. "How then, do they propose to come to a consensus on what to regulate in the open market?" However, there will be some differences of opinions among Democrats, as well. House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., suggested that he agreed with consumer advocates who don't like the proposal's plan to give the the new regulator power to enforce the Community Reinvestment Act, which pushes banks to make loans to low-income households. And Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., warned last week that he was concerned that Congress would cede some of its consumer law-making power to the executive branch if it established the agency."