MY CONGRESSMAN IS NOT THAT BAD

I am a Conservative and I did vote for Congressman Carney over Republican Hackett, and so far Congressman Carnes has been preety good, and I think I will support him again. Below is his latest update.


July 17, 2009



Dear Friend,

I wanted to take the opportunity this week to share a recent news clip regarding our current financial crisis and how we fix it and ensure that it never happens again. I have said many times that you can never have enough transparency and accountability when spending the taxpayers' hard-earned money. As Chairmen of the Sub-Committee for Management, Investigations and Oversight for the Homeland Security Committee, I am working hard to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in our system.

That is why recently I worked with a group of 17 Republicans and Democrats to urge the President to investigate the Federal Reserve's role in the recent takeover of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America. It appears that the government may have over-stepped its appropriate reach into private business dealings by exerting undue pressure on Bank of America to purchase Merrill Lynch. The government has an appropriate regulatory role but we must ensure that the government does not overreach and that we preserve the free-market capitalist system responsible for the historic strength and prosperity of our nation.

It is my firm belief that the best way to avoid future financial crises is to learn everything that we can about both the private sector and the government's involvement in the current situation. Only when we understand everyone's role will we be in a position to better protect the taxpayers in the future. I am firmly committed to turning this economy around, creating local jobs and keeping the people of northeast and central Pennsylvania informed during the process.

I hope you enjoy the clip and have a great weekend.

House wants answers on Merrill Lynch takeover

The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader - July 11, 2009

By BILL O' BOYLE

U.S. Rep. Chris Carney and others ask for investigation to see if the Federal Reserve exerted pressure.

U.S. Rep. Chris Carney and 16 other House members from both political parties are calling on the Obama administration to investigate the Federal Reserve's role in the takeover of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America during the recent national financial crisis.

The House members are questioning whether the federal government, including former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, exerted pressure on Bank of America to acquire Merrill Lynch.

"Restoring faith and confidence in our financial institutions and markets must be a critical priority, particularly now, as we all work to get our economy back on track," Carney said. "The American people deserve transparency and accountability from their government, and this probe is one important action we can take to help avoid future financial crisis."

Carney said the government has an important role to play in the economy.

"But it should never play that role in the shadows and it should only step in situations of genuine necessity," Carney said. "This probe will restore faith and confidence by getting at the truth of what happened in this situation and also by discouraging any potentially questionable government overreaching and tactics from being employed in the future."

The deal was completed in early January and has stirred controversy on Capitol Hill.

In testimony before Congress, Bernanke denied making threats to Bank of America executives if they failed to complete the deal.

The 17 legislators - three Democrats and 14 Republicans - on Friday sent a letter to Obama requesting the investigation. The Obama administration has proposed granting new powers to the Fed in an effort to overhaul the financial system.

In the letter, the legislators wrote: "While Chairman Bernanke testified that he made no such threats in relation to the merger, there is a considerable amount of other testimony and evidence that calls into question those claims. No additional powers should be contemplated for the Federal Reserve, however, until this issue is thoroughly investigated and the Federal Reserve is cleared of any wrongdoing."

The House members who signed the letter are: Carney, Alan Grayson, D-Florida; Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; Scott Garrett, R-New Jersey; Tom Price, R-Georgia; Walter Jones, R-North Carolina; John Duncan, R-Tennessee; Ron Paul, R-Texas; Thaddeus McCotter, R-Michigan; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee; Michael Burgess, R-Texas; Adrian Smith, R-Nebraska; Michele Bachmann, R-Minnesota; Louie Gohmert, R-Texas; Dan Burton, R-Indiana; Patrick McHenry, R-North Carolina; and Bill Posey, R-Florida.


Sincerely,
Christopher P. Carney
Member of Congress