Mel Watt (D-SC, 12th district) protecting the Fed and the big banks

[brentspeak]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/17/audit-the-fed-effort-unde_n_361389.html

A bipartisan effort to force transparency on the Federal Reserve is suddenly in jeopardy after a House Financial Services Committee member introduced an amendment that would let the multi-trillion dollar organization continue throwing tax dollars around in secret.

Rep. Mel Watt, a Democrat from North Carolina, has introduced an amendment intended as an alternative to the measure to audit the Federal Reserve introduced by Reps. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Alan Grayson's (D-Fla.) . But instead of increasing transparency, as the amendment claims to do, Watt's measure would instead make the institution more opaque.

snip

The Fed has expanded its balance sheet drastically over the last year, entering into exotic swap arrangements and otherwise pumping trillions of dollars into the economy. How it has done so and who has been on the receiving end would remain secret under Watt's bill.

By contrast, the Paul-Grayson amendment is patterned after Paul's bill H.R. 1207, which has broad bipartisan support. It has more than 310 cosponsors in a chamber with 435 members.

[Alexander]

1. NC, not SC.

But yes, this is disturbing.

[Joe Chi Minh]

2. Transparency is unAmerican. Where's the freedom!

[tledford]

3. Charlotte is in Mel Watt's district.

So a congresscritter is going to automatically forswear special interests because he is black and a Democrat? Right. Charlotte, after NYC, is the financial capital of the US (Bank of America, Wachovia).

Would be nice if it were so, but it ain't.

[AllentownJake]

4. Wachovia no longer exists

But yes, Charlotte is the center of the Southern Banking universe. You won't see many Reps from NY supporting this either.

My Republican congressman is the most vehement supporter of Hydrogen fuel cells in the House of Representatives. Air Products is headquartered in my district.