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Some Dems voice early criticism of Obama's financial plan
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06/17/09 08:52 AM ET
Some congressional Democrats were slow to back President Obama's proposed reforms of the financial regulatory system, expressing numerous concerns, but lauding the "first steps" taken by the administration.
In interviews Wednesday morning, some House and Senate Democrats voiced various criticisms of the plan, indicating the plans put forth by the administration may have to clear hurdles in both parties once in Congress.
"I do have some concerns about the administration's proposals," Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), a former venture capitalist, told Bloomberg News. "I'm fairly concerned about their idea of putting systemic risk oversight further within the Federal Reserve."
"But the plan that the president is going to announce...I think is a good, common sense start in the right direction," Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) told Fox Business Network. Himes's district, located in the southern Connecticut suburbs of New York City, is home to a variety of financial service firms and professionals.
"We need to be very careful that we don't cast too wide a net," Himes said.
Another Democratic lawmaker said the administration's proposals do not go far enough.
"Well the two biggest problems I have is that it doesn't focus on the credit rating agencies sufficiently, and it doesn't deal with over-the-counter, custom derivatives," said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a member of the Financial Services Committee.
"We have a system where the issuer of a debt security selects the credit rating agency," Sherman added. "That's like having the home team select the umpire -- you're not going to get a fair game."
Congressional Republicans have fretted that the new regulations fail to address gaps in existing regulation, and have criticized the administration for adding new rules to businesses in the financial sector.
In interviews Wednesday morning, some House and Senate Democrats voiced various criticisms of the plan, indicating the plans put forth by the administration may have to clear hurdles in both parties once in Congress.
"I do have some concerns about the administration's proposals," Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), a former venture capitalist, told Bloomberg News. "I'm fairly concerned about their idea of putting systemic risk oversight further within the Federal Reserve."
"But the plan that the president is going to announce...I think is a good, common sense start in the right direction," Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) told Fox Business Network. Himes's district, located in the southern Connecticut suburbs of New York City, is home to a variety of financial service firms and professionals.
"We need to be very careful that we don't cast too wide a net," Himes said.
Another Democratic lawmaker said the administration's proposals do not go far enough.
"Well the two biggest problems I have is that it doesn't focus on the credit rating agencies sufficiently, and it doesn't deal with over-the-counter, custom derivatives," said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a member of the Financial Services Committee.
"We have a system where the issuer of a debt security selects the credit rating agency," Sherman added. "That's like having the home team select the umpire -- you're not going to get a fair game."
Congressional Republicans have fretted that the new regulations fail to address gaps in existing regulation, and have criticized the administration for adding new rules to businesses in the financial sector.
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