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| Friday, November 20, 2009 |
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ANALYSIS
March 2, 2009
Sagging Index no longer reflects what’s going on in the market, some say, Replacements? Google it, to start.
March 2, 2009
Downward price spiral will actually boost the cost of capital for most companies. CFOS, take note.
March 2, 2009
The latest bailout at AIG could be a preview of how the president will deal with Wall Street.
March 2, 2009
No corporate defaults. Big debt offerings. Percolating CP issuance. Things may be looking up in the capital markets.
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Bloomberg
TRIAL BY HENRY House oversight panel chairman Waxman wags a mean finger at corporate excess.
November 16, 2008 12:01 AM ET
Last month, a soft-spoken but tenacious congressman hauled the so-called bogeymen of the world financial crisis before his committee and grilled them as television cameras rolled. Alan Greenspan grudgingly acknowledged—for the first time publicly—that he had put too much faith in a deregulatory agenda as longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve. Lehman Brothers chairman Richard Fuld swallowed a dose of responsibility for his storied firm’s bankruptcy. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox dodged culpability and pointed a finger at Congress. And the leaders of American International Group said they didn’t know the seized insurance company was spending $443,000 of taxpayer money to send executives to a luxury resort. “We can’t undo the damage of the past eight years,” Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said at the time, in a reference to the Bush administration. “But we can start the process of holding those responsible to public account.” Mr. Waxman, a congressman since 1974 whose California district includes Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, has been the tip of the Democrats’ spear during the Bush administration. His clout soared two years ago when the Democrats gained control of Congress and he became chairman of the far-reaching oversight committee. Mr. Waxman’s hearings and investigations have covered topics that include contractor Blackwater Security’s activities in Iraq, the leak of former Central Intelligence Agency operative Valerie Plame’s name, formaldehyde contamination in trailers for Hurricane Katrina refugees and baseball pitcher Roger Clemens’ alleged steroid use. “He’s a legendary overseer and an extraordinary legislator, one of the congressional giants,” said Thomas Mann, senior fellow at the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution and co-author of a 2006 book on Congress called The Broken Branch. “[He’s] a relentlessly hard worker who cares about policy and is very ambitious.” Not everyone is enamored of the 69-year-old Mr. Waxman’s style. “Many members of Congress are quite modest, ordinary people,” said Allen Schick, a public policy professor at the University of Maryland. “[Mr.] Waxman is more aggressive and has a bigger ego than most. If you look at his hearings, he is front and center, with no rivals for center stage. It’s his show and he knows it.” Mr. Waxman also is considered one of the most liberal members of Congress. He routinely garners 100% ratings from labor, environmental and civil liberties groups, and ratings below 10% from business organizations. Constituents in his affluent district near Los Angeles have consistently returned him to office with 70% or more of the vote. Now Mr. Waxman’s ambition is taking him into a more awkward realm as he tries to wrest control of the House Energy and Commerce Committee from fellow Democrat John Dingell. Mr. Dingell’s committee can introduce legislation, while the oversight panel cannot, and its purview includes topics that Mr. Waxman cares about passionately, such as energy, health care and the environment. All are also likely to be high priorities for Barack Obama—as well as the business community. In addition, Mr. Dingell, who has represented a Michigan district since 1955, has defended car manufacturers’ interests against efforts to curb auto pollution and global warming. Mr. Waxman has not offered any public insight into his motives. “My record shows that I have the skill and ability to build consensus and deliver legislation that improves the lives of all Americans,” he said in a statement on the challenge. Mr. Waxman would likely push “bolder legislative solutions” than his elder rival., Mr. Schick said. But Mr. Dingell, 82, the longest-serving member of the House, isn’t going down without a fight. He and his supporters are reportedly making calls to every Democratic lawmaker in the hopes of securing votes in caucus, while also reaching out to lobbyists in an effort to influence colleagues. “It wouldn’t surprise me if [Mr.] Dingell prevails,” Mr. Schick said. “He has a lot of enemies but also lots of chits to call in.” If he loses, the five-foot-five Mr. Waxman can return to his post as oversight committee chief and continue to play David to corporate Goliaths. But it’s not clear how aggressive he or any other Democratic legislator will be under an administration like Mr. Obama’s. Historically, Democrats have been much tougher with presidents from their own party than Republicans have been when the same party controlled both the executive and legislative branches, said Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. “Democrats in Congress gave Clinton a rough time in the first two years of his administration,” said Mr. Ornstein, co-author with Mr. Mann of the 2006 book on Congress. “During the Bush administration, Republicans in Congress saw themselves as foot soldiers in the president’s army.” At a grilling of hedge fund managers last week, Mr. Waxman indicated he would not likely shrink from taking on other Democrats. The congressman introduced the hedge fund managers who were testifying as “some of the most successful and knowledgeable investors in our financial markets.” After the garland, Mr. Waxman then offered information that might be a tad embarrassing to the five investors, including sizable Democratic donors such as George Soros. They earned an average of more than $1 billion last year, Mr. Waxman said, while paying only 15% in taxes on some earnings. “That’s a lower tax rate,” he concluded, “than many school teachers, firefighters or plumbers pay.” FW
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