Merkley lands on Banking; Wyden on Judiciary
Kari Chisholm
In a surprising - and yet very exciting development - Senator Jeff Merkley has been appointed to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, chaired by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT). The latest appointments were announced last night in a statement from the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV).
Merkley has a strong record of progressive action in the financial services area. His battle to end payday lending in Oregon has drawn strong reviews from consumer advocates, as have his campaign pledges to reform the credit card industry and mortgage lending. (Which is why, naturally, I suspect that industry representatives were likely working behind the scenes to stop his appointment to Banking. Bummer for them!)
He was also appointed to the Senate Budget committee, chaired by Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND). Previously, it was announced that Merkley would serve on the Environment & Public Works Committee and the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee.
Senator Ron Wyden's assignments include Budget, Energy & Natural Resources, Finance, Intelligence, Judiciary, and Aging. Those are the same assignments as before - with the exception of the appointment to Judiciary. The Judiciary Committee is in the midst of the confirmation process for Attorney General nominee Eric Holder, and many of the questions before Judiciary overlap with issues that Senator Wyden has been working on in the Intelligence Committee - warrantless wiretapping, domestic spying, and other issues at the intersection of national security and civil liberties.
Of course, once the rest of the membership of the Senate shakes out - with the final victory for Al Franken in Minnesota, the official appointment of Michael Bennett in Colorado, and whoever gets appointed in New York - committee assignments may get a final shakeout.
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7:30 a.m.
Jan 22, '09
Was that a slip of the tongue, to say he was battling for the end of payday lending? Surely he was seeking to end usurious payday lending, right? Not the kind he explicitly made legal with his bill? Cause it would be unseemly to try to drive legitimate business out of the state, right? He wouldn't push for higher OR unemployment through those lost jobs, right?
I'd be curious to know which consumer advocates gave him high marks for that. I guess the NY Fed doesn't qualify as a consumer advocate.
11:01 a.m.
Jan 22, '09
These are great committee appointments for Merkley and I agree that his legislative record makes him very well qualified to be a strong progressive voice there.
12:38 p.m.
Jan 22, '09
And here's something Merkley could start looking into right away (via a reader at TPM):
12:54 p.m.
Jan 22, '09
Yeah, yeah, TJ. I know that you're the one guy in Oregon who thinks that there's such a thing non-usurious payday lending, but the rest of us understand what we're all talking about.
2:25 p.m.
Jan 22, '09
Frankly, the fewer loan sharks in Oregon the better, I could give a hoot about calling that a job loss.
Jan 22, '09
Goodie. Now he can get a sweetheart mortgage deal too like the other corrupt politicos on the committee. Perhaps he can learn a thing or two from the the House's Barney Frank on how to write in specific bailout amounts into TARP (Frank's 12M to a corrupt bank in Mass.). Need money? Just ask Merkley to get a provision written into the next version of TARP.
It appears, corruption in DC has taken a quantum leap with everyone asleep at the switch.
Blame Turbotax (Giethner) and get confirmed, say you'll release mortgage info (Dodd) and then don't, say tax codes are complicated (Rangel), then go back to work writing tax codes. Sign an executive order to ban lobbyist in your administration and just simply ignore questions about lobbyists that are in your administration (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17831.html).
I thought things were supposed to be different after 1.20.09. I'm so disillusioned. Lump in how the D's handled the Blagojevich indictment and Sam Adams and it's down right depressing.
I guess I was hoping for the wrong kind of Change: ethical politicians who won't drown our grandchildren in debt.
Feb 2, '09