By Kate Phillips
For the first time, the White House said on Thursday that President Obama would sign legislation establishing an independent commission to investigate the causes of the nation’s financial collapse.
The House yesterday approved by an overwhelming vote a measure that would create a 10-member panel, appointed by the leaders of both chambers and perhaps committee chairman, a provision similar to one passed in the Senate a few weeks ago.
Such a commission would have subpoena power, and lawmakers have described its mission in sprawling terms, saying that the commission would be empowered to investigate everything from the mortgage crisis, credit-default swaps, pension and hedge funds, to the actions of the major banks, the bailout programs and down even to the level of ratings for municipal bonds at the local levels.
At the White House briefing this afternoon, Robert Gibbs, the press secretary, was asked whether Mr. Obama would support such a commission. Mr. Gibbs said of the legislation, “I’m sure if it landed on his desk,
the president would sign it.”
Some Republicans expressed concerns on the House floor yesterday that the version before them gave the Democrats six appointments and the Republicans four, and said they hoped to persuade the Democratic leadership to redraw the membership evenly.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate have been pushing for an investigative panel for months, and proponents likened its potential power to the legendary efforts of a Senate committee known as the Pecora commission in the 1930s that led to major banking reforms. Lawmakers also point to the more recent bipartisan inquiry, the Sept. 11 Commission.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi surprised some during the Easter break by calling for a Pecora-like commission, saying the American people deserved to know what went wrong and how to prevent such economic calamity in the future.
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