Do you know what was hidden in the financial reform bill

Remember the so-called “Financial Reform” bill that was recently signed into law? The one that we asked you to oppose? Well, it passed, and was signed into law. But something snuck through that no one knew about… until now.

In one provision, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) no longer has to comply with virtually any requests for information releases, including those filed under the Freedom of Information Act.

This provision exempts the SEC from disclosing records or information derived from “surveillance, risk assessments, or other regulatory and oversight activities.”

Funny, I thought the SEC’s purpose for existing was for regulator and oversight into the financial industry. This provision covers almost everything the agency does.

In touting the new law, President Obama specifically said it would “increase transparency in financial dealings”. With all due respect, Mister President, how, exactly, will shielding the SEC from the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) increase transparency? Won’t it do the opposite?

Steven Mintz, founding partner of law firm Mintz & Gold LLC in New York, predicted “the next time there is a Bernie Madoff failure the American public will not be able to obtain the SEC documents that describe the failure … The only losers here are the American public.”

Did your legislators vote for this bill? If they did, please write them and ask why they think Ponzi schemes like that of Bernie Madoff should be hidden from the public view. Or, if they didn’t know about this provision, ask them why they didn’t read the bill.

In either event, I feel this is a failure to represent the people. What are your thoughts?

You might also be interested in this article: conservativeactionalerts.com/blog_post/show/737