[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 345 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 345

    Establishing a select committee to make a thorough and complete 
 investigation of the causes of the current financial crisis and other 
                                matters.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 21, 2009

 Mr. Dingell submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                         the Committee on Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Establishing a select committee to make a thorough and complete 
 investigation of the causes of the current financial crisis and other 
                                matters.

Whereas the current financial crisis was caused by weak underwriting standards, 
        unsound risk management practices, increasingly complex and opaque 
        financial products, and consequent excessive leverage, which combined to 
        create vulnerabilities in the global financial system;
Whereas the current financial crisis has exposed the imprudence of prior 
        deregulation of the financial services industry, as well as pervasive 
        weaknesses in the enforcement of existing regulations for and 
        deficiencies in Federal and State regulatory authority related to that 
        industry; and
Whereas the current financial crisis has severely depressed housing prices, 
        caused a precipitous decline in the net worth of Americans, constricted 
        global credit markets, contracted growth of the Nation's gross domestic 
        product, and increased the United States rate of unemployment: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved,

SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT.

    There is established a select committee to investigate the causes 
of the current financial crisis.

SEC. 2. COMPOSITION.

    The select committee shall be composed of 15 members appointed by 
the Speaker from among the members of the Committee on Financial 
Services, the Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, of whom 
6 shall be appointed after consultation with the minority leader. The 
Speaker shall designate one member as the chair.

SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION AND REPORT.

    (a) Investigation.--The select committee is authorized and directed 
to conduct a thorough and complete investigation of--
            (1) the operation by any person, firm, co-partnership, 
        company, association, corporation, or other entity of the 
        business of banking, financing, and extending credit; and of 
        the business of issuing, offering, or selling securities, 
        futures, and derivatives;
            (2) the operation of any mortgage broker and originator 
        with respect to the business of issuing, offering, or selling 
        securities, futures, and derivatives;
            (3) the practices of any insurance company or insurance 
        company affiliate relative or related to the business of 
        issuing, offering, or selling securities, futures, and 
        derivatives;
            (4) the practices with respect to the buying and selling 
        and the borrowing and lending of securities which are traded 
        upon the various securities exchanges, or on the over-the-
        counter market, or on any other market; and of the values of 
        such securities, as well as the practices of agencies related 
        to rating securities; and
            (5) the effect of all such business operations and 
        practices upon interstate and foreign commerce, upon the 
        industrial and commercial credit structure of the United 
        States, upon the operation of the national banking system and 
        the Federal Reserve System, upon the market for securities of 
        the United States Government, upon the market for securities, 
        futures, and derivatives, and the desirability of reforming the 
        regulation of any such business and any such securities, 
        futures, and derivatives, including the ability of the United 
        States to impose civil or criminal penalties with respect to 
        any such operations and practices deemed fraudulent or contrary 
        to the public interest.
    (b) Report.--The select committee shall report its findings to the 
House during the current Congress.

SEC. 4. PROCEDURES.

    (a) Authority.--For the purpose of carrying out this resolution, 
the select committee may sit and act during the present Congress at any 
time and place within the United States or elsewhere, whether the House 
is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned and hold such hearings as 
it considers necessary.
    (b) Rules of Procedure.--Rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives (including the authority to subpoena witnesses and 
documents) shall apply to the select committee.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Expenses.--There shall be paid out of the applicable accounts 
of the House such sums as may be necessary for the expenses of the 
select committee. Such payments shall be made on vouchers signed by the 
chairman of the select committee and approved in the manner directed by 
the Committee on House Administration. Amounts made available under 
this subsection shall be expended in accordance with regulations 
prescribed by the Committee on House Administration.
    (b) Staff and Travel.--In carrying out its functions under this 
resolution, the select committee may--
            (1) appoint, either on a permanent basis or as experts or 
        consultants, any staff that the select committee considers 
        necessary;
            (2) prescribe the duties and responsibilities of the staff;
            (3) fix the compensation of the staff at per annum gross 
        rates that do not exceed the highest rate of basic pay, as in 
        effect from time to time, of level V of the Executive Schedule 
        in section 5316 of title 5, United States Code;
            (4) terminate the employment of any such staff as the 
        select committee considers appropriate;
            (5) reimburse members of the select committee and its staff 
        for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred 
        by them in the performance of their functions for the select 
        committee, other than expenses in connection with any meeting 
        of the select committee held in the District of Columbia; and
            (6) obtain detailees or staff from the executive or 
        legislative branch of the Government, who shall be deemed staff 
        of the select committee.

SEC. 7. DISSOLUTION AND DISPOSITION OF RECORDS.

    (a) Dissolution.--The select committee shall cease to exist 30 days 
after filing the report required under section 3.
    (b) Records.--Upon dissolution of the select committee, the records 
of the select committee shall become the records of the Committee on 
Financial Services, the Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform.
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