II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 298 

To establish a Financial Markets Commission, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 22, 2009 

Mr. ISAKSON (for himself, Mr. CONRAD, and Mr. CHAMBLISS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish a Financial Markets Commission, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Financial Markets 

5 Commission Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

7 There is established in the legislative branch the Fi8 nancial Markets Commission (in this Act referred to as 

9 the ‘‘Commission’’) to examine all causes, domestic and 


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1 global, of the current financial and economic crisis in the 

2 United States. 

3 SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION. 

4 (a) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be composed 

5 of 7 members, of whom— 

6 (1) 2 members shall be appointed by the Presi7 dent; 

8 (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the major9 ity leader of the Senate; 

10 (3) 1 member shall be appointed by the Speak11 er of the House of Representatives; 

12 (4) 1 member shall be appointed by the minor13 ity leader of the Senate; 

14 (5) 1 member shall be appointed by the minor15 ity leader of the House of Representatives; and 

16 (6) 1 member shall be appointed by the Chair17 man of the Board of Governors of the Federal Re18 serve System. 

19 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of Congress 

20 that individuals appointed to the Commission should be 

21 United States citizens with national recognition and sig22 nificant depth of experience in such fields as governmental 

23 regulation, finance, economics, and housing. 

24 (c) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirement 

2 of paragraph (2), the Chairperson and Vice Chair3 person of the Commission shall be elected by the 

4 members. 

5 (2) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—The 

6 Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall not be from 

7 the same political party. 

8 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—If 45 days after the date of 

9 enactment of this Act, 4 or more members of the Commis10 sion have been appointed, those members who have been 

11 appointed may meet and, if necessary, select a temporary 

12 Chairperson and Vice Chairperson, who may begin the op13 erations of the Commission, including the hiring of staff. 

14 (e) QUORUM; VACANCIES.—After the initial meeting 

15 of the Commission, the Commission shall meet upon the 

16 call of the Chairperson or a majority of its members. Four 

17 members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum. 

18 Any vacancy on the Commission shall not affect its pow19 ers, but shall be filled in the same manner in which the 

20 original appointment was made. 

21 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 

22 The functions of the Commission are— 

23 (1) to examine all causes, domestic and global, 

24 of the current financial and economic crisis in the 

25 United States, including the collapse of major finanVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:44 Jan 23, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S298.IS S298

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1 cial and commercial firms and the deterioration of 

2 the credit and housing markets; 

3 (2) to investigate the role in the financial and 

4 economic crisis, if any, of— 

5 (A) the Securities and Exchange Commis6 sion; 

7 (B) nationally recognized statistical rating 

8 organizations, as that term is defined in section 

9 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

10 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); 

11 (C) the Commodity Futures Trading Com12 mission; 

13 (D) the Federal National Mortgage Asso14 ciation and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage 

15 Corporation; 

16 (E) trading facilities for commodities, as 

17 those terms are defined in section 1a of the 

18 Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a), and 

19 self-regulatory organizations, as that term is 

20 defined in section 3 of the Securities Exchange 

21 Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c); 

22 (F) the Federal banking agencies, as that 

23 term is defined in section 3 of the Federal De24 posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813); 


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1 (G) any financial or commercial corpora2 tion, partnership, or entity; and 

3 (H) any other governmental or non–gov4 ernmental entity; 

5 (3) to submit a report under section 8 of this 

6 Act; and 

7 (4) to refer to the Attorney General of the 

8 United States and any appropriate State attorney 

9 general any person that the Commission finds may 

10 have violated the laws of the United States in rela11 tion to such crisis. 

12 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

13 (a) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission 

14 may, for purposes of carrying out this Act— 

15 (1) hold hearings, sit and act at times and 

16 places, take testimony, receive evidence, and admin17 ister oaths; and 

18 (2) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at19 tendance and testimony of witnesses and the produc20 tion of books, records, correspondence, memoranda, 

21 papers, and documents. 

22 (b) SUBPOENAS.— 

23 (1) SERVICE.—Subpoenas issued under sub24 section (a)(2) may be served by any person des25 ignated by the Commission. 


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1 (2) ENFORCEMENT.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of contu3 macy or failure to obey a subpoena issued 

4 under subsection (a)(2), the United States dis5 trict court for the judicial district in which the 

6 subpoenaed person resides, is served, or may be 

7 found, or where the subpoena is returnable, 

8 may issue an order requiring such person to ap9 pear at any designated place to testify or to 

10 produce documentary or other evidence. Any 

11 failure to obey the order of the court may be 

12 punished by the court as a contempt of that 

13 court. 

14 (B) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—Sec15 tions 102 through 104 of the Revised Statutes 

16 of the United States (2 U.S.C. 192 through 

17 194) shall apply in the case of any failure of 

18 any witness to comply with any subpoena or to 

19 testify when summoned under the authority of 

20 this section. 

21 (c) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may enter into 

22 contracts to enable the Commission to discharge its duties 

23 under this Act. 

24 (d) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

25 Commission may secure directly from any department, 


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1 agency, or instrumentality of the United States any infor2 mation related to any inquiry of the Commission con3 ducted under this Act. Each such department, agency, or 

4 instrumentality shall, to the extent authorized by law, fur5 nish such information directly to the Commission upon re6 quest. 

7 (e) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

8 (1) DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

10 Treasury shall provide all amounts necessary to 

11 defray the costs and provide administrative sup12 port and other services to the Commission for 

13 the performance of the functions of the Com14 mission. 

15 (B) LIMITATION.—The value of the assist16 ance required to be provided by the Secretary 

17 of the Treasury under this paragraph may not 

18 exceed $3,000,000. 

19 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

20 addition to the assistance prescribed in paragraph 

21 (1), departments and agencies of the United States 

22 are authorized to provide to the Commission such 

23 services, funds, facilities, staff, and other support 

24 services as they may determine advisable and as may 

25 be authorized by law. 


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1 (f) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

2 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

3 (g) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

4 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

5 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

6 United States. 

7 (h) POWERS OF SUBCOMMITTEES, MEMBERS, AND

8 AGENTS.—Any subcommittee, member, or agent of the 

9 Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take 

10 any action which the Commission is authorized to take by 

11 this section. 

12 SEC. 6. STAFF OF THE COMMISSION. 

13 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc14 tor who shall be appointed by the Chairperson and the 

15 Vice Chairperson, acting jointly. 

16 (b) STAFF.—The Chairperson, in consultation with 

17 the Vice Chairperson, may appoint additional personnel as 

18 may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out 

19 its functions. 

20 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

21 LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission may 

22 be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, 

23 United States Code, governing appointments in the com24 petitive service, and may be paid without regard to the 

25 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 


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1 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule 

2 pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this sub3 section may exceed the equivalent of that payable for a 

4 position at level V of the Executive Schedule under section 

5 5316 of title 5, United States Code. Any individual ap6 pointed under subsection (a) or (b) shall be treated as an 

7 employee for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 

8 89, 89A, 89B, and 90 of that title. 

9 (d) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 

10 may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 

11 from the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the 

12 rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular employ13 ment without interruption. 

14 (e) CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The Commission is au15 thorized to procure the services of experts and consultants 

16 in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States 

17 Code, but at rates not to exceed the daily rate paid a per18 son occupying a position at level IV of the Executive 

19 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 

20 Code. 

21 SEC. 7. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

22 (a) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis23 sion may be compensated at not to exceed the daily equiva24 lent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position 

25 at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 


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1 of title 5, United States Code, for each day during which 

2 that member is engaged in the actual performance of the 

3 duties of the Commission. 

4 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from their 

5 homes or regular places of business in the performance 

6 of services for the Commission, members of the Commis7 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

8 in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons em9 ployed intermittently in the Government service are al10 lowed expenses under section 5703(b) of title 5, United 

11 States Code. 

12 SEC. 8. REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION; TERMINATION. 

13 (a) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

14 date of the first meeting of the Commission, the Commis15 sion shall submit to the President and Congress a final 

16 report containing— 

17 (1) the findings and conclusions of the Commis18 sion on the causes of the current financial and eco19 nomic crisis in the United States; and 

20 (2) such findings, conclusions, and rec21 ommendations for statutory and regulatory changes 

22 as a majority of Commission members finds are nec23 essary to prevent a financial and economic crisis 

24 comparable to the current financial and economic 

25 crisis in the United States. 


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1 (b) INTERIM REPORTS.—At any time after the first 

2 meeting of the Commission, the Commission may submit 

3 to the President and Congress an interim report con4 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

5 for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a major6 ity of Commission members. 

7 (c) TERMINATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, and all the 

9 authorities of this Act, shall terminate 60 days after 

10 the date on which the final report is submitted 

11 under subsection (a). 

12 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER13 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day 

14 period referred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose 

15 of concluding its activities, including providing testi16 mony to committees of Congress concerning its re17 ports and disseminating the final report submitted 

18 under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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