Senate’s Warren Seeks Disclosure Over Firms’ Wrongdoing

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Cheyenne Hopkins - Jan 8, 2014
U.S. government agencies would have to provide “accessible and detailed” disclosure of settlements over corporate wrongdoing under a bill proposed by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tom Coburn today.

“Anytime an agency decides that an enforcement action is needed, but it is not willing to go to court, that agency should be willing to disclose the key terms and conditions,” Warren said in a statement. “Increased transparency will shut down back-room deal-making and ensure that Congress, citizens and watchdog groups can hold regulatory agencies accountable for strong and effective enforcement.”

Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, announced their proposal a day after JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) agreed to pay $2.6 billion to resolve criminal and civil allegations related to the bank’s dealings with Bernard Madoff, the New York money manager convicted for running a Ponzi scheme.

Under the lawmakers’ Truth in Settlements Act, all public statements referencing dollar amounts would have to include explanations of how those agreements are categorized for tax purposes and whether payments may be offset by “credits.” The bill would have to gain approval by the full Senate and the Republican-controlled House before it could go to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-08/senate-s-warren-seeks-fuller-disclosure-over-firms-wrongdoing.html

[Mass]

1. So, Democrats and Republicans can work together?

I thought it was forbidden.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Not in Warren's case

This is exactly why she's not a tenable presidential candidate: she's too extreme. Unlike sensible moderate Democrats, like Obama and the Clintons, Warren would never be able to get Republicans to work with her.

Regards,

TWM

[Mass]

5. LOL. Indeed.

It is one of the reasons I like her. She is ready to talk to the other side in order to advance an issue she cares about.

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Oh #%^*, I didn't realize she worked with a Republican on this!

In that case, it's a sign that she's can't pass the Liberal Purity Test, so all you Firebaggers might as well vote for Hillary the Inevitable.

Regards,

TWM

[brett_jv]

2. Yay!

Go Elizabeth!!!

Now ... does anyone think this has ANY chance of actually passing?

[valerief]

9. Sure, if the Congressional Dems agree to start another war. nt

[snot]

3. Excellent idea!

And let the disclosure be available online.

[Scuba]

7. ...

[WillyT]

8. K & R !!!

[democrat2thecore]

10. "The Nation" Magazine has a good article on this bill

"Federal settlements with bad corporate actors often have misleading, inflated dollar amounts attached. For example, the recent mega-settlement between JPMorgan Chase and the Justice Department for mortgage-backed security abuses before the 2008 crash was billed as a $13 billion deal, but right off the top, $4 billion was actually from an earlier settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Only $2 billion of the remaining penalties applied to after-tax profits, meaning that the bank could write off the rest as a loss for tax purposes. On top of that, the bank was allowed to credit many things it would have done anyway in the regular course of business as payments under the settlement. The final penalty amount paid by JPMorgan is sure to be much less than $13 billion."

<SNIP>

"No doubt the deeply conservative Senator Coburn is an unusual partner for Warren, but it dovetails with his long-standing interest in government transparency and the federal ledger. “Our bill gives taxpayers the transparency tools they need to access real information and numbers regarding enforcement settlements,” he said."

http://www.thenation.com/blog/177840/warren-coburn-push-increased-transparency-settlements