Houses Passes TARP Reform and Accountability Act

Richard Parsons-- clueless corporate hack, reborn as clueless corporate bankster

Late yesterday afternoon, the House passed some tough new requirements for the use of the TARP funds. The final vote was 260-166, with 10 right wing Democrats joining all but 18 Republicans in opposition. These putative Democrats' names should be familiar to all DWT readers. They're the ones who always delight in crossing the aisle, voting against the interests of working families and then running back to their districts and bragging how they oppose Nancy Pelosi. Yesterday's batch: Jason Altmire (PA), Bobby Bright (AL), Tim Holden (PA), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ), Jim Marshall (GA), Mike McIntyre (NC), Walt Minnick (ID), Collin Peterson (MN), Heath Shuler (NC), and Gene Taylor (MS). Pretty ugly. It was even uglier earlier when Republicans used a parliamentary procedure to attempt to kill the bill. That failed 199-228, with 27 Democrats storming across the aisle, mostly reactionaries like the other bunch but without the cajones to follow through-- creeps, Blue Dogs and many of the regular suspects, like John Barrow (GA), Chris Carney (PA), Ben Chandler (KY), Travis Childers (MS), Brad Ellsworth (IN), Parker Griffith (AL), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD), Baron Hill (IN), Frank Kratovil (MD), Jim Matheson (UT), Mike McIntyre (NC), Charlie Melancon (LA), Mike Michaud (ME), Walt Minnick (ID), Harry Mitchell (AZ), Glenn Nye (VA), Heath Shuler (NC), Gene Taylor (MS), and Harry Teague (NM).

As you may know, before I became a full-time blogger, I was the president of Reprise Records, part of Warner Bros, Time Warner and AOLTimeWarner. My ultimate boss, at one time, was Richard Parsons, as clueless and pitiful a corporate dupe as you'll ever find anywhere. He's been on the Board of CitiGroup and today, instead of being arrested and imprisoned, he was, as expected, named chairman of that rapidly diminishing company.

Regulators have pressed the struggling financial giant to shake up its board and replace Mr. Bischoff in an effort to regain investors’ trust. Staggered by losses, Citigroup has sought two financial lifelines from Washington.

The inmates are surely running the asylum. They could just as well have given it to Robert Rubin, Joseph Massino, Carmine “Junior” Persico, Vincent “Chin” Gigante, Vittorio “Vic” Amuso, Giovanni “John” Riggi or my friend Jane's standard poodle Kobe. The idea of an inveterate failure like Parsons being anywhere near taxpayer dollars scares the hell out of me. The more and stricter the regulations, the better; believe me.

The new regs passed today "require recipients of government cash to prove they are using the money to increase lending to consumers and small businesses, to prohibit them from using the money to finance mergers, and to ban them from paying bonuses to their top executives until the money is repaid."

The measure also would require President Obama to dedicate at least $40 billion to helping distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure, in part by creating a "safe harbor" that protects loan servicers who modify troubled mortgages from lawsuits by investors in those mortgages. The Senate has no plans to consider the bill.

And even if they did, anti-regulatory wingnut jihadists would filibuster it. We're so fucked!

Congressman Eric Massa held his nose and voted for the bill, explaining exactly why to his constituents. I think his sentiments were identical to most progressives who went along with this thing.

“I am not happy about the financial mess the Bush Administration left us,” said Congressman Eric Massa. “I oppose the idea of having to spend any more taxpayer money in TARP, but if that money is going to be spent, then we need to have more transparency and accountability. I will vote against authorizing any more spending through TARP, but today I voted for the TARP Reform and Accountability Act because my constituents sent me here to fight government waste and a profound lack of accountability... I've received hundreds of phone calls, letters and emails from our constituents demanding accountability, transparency, and an end to wasteful government spending. I was elected to help change Washington, and lead the way for a new era of accountability, and that's why I voted for this bill today.”