Washington, DC - Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) today introduced a resolution calling for a comprehensive investigation of the current financial crisis, which has generated $1.3 trillion in financial industry losses.  In his statement, he said the new committee should not only examine the sources of the crisis, but also recommend how to prevent its causes from reoccurring in the future.  Below are the Congressman’s remarks:

“Thank you, Madam Speaker.  I rise today to introduce a resolution establishing a select committee in this body to examine the causes of the current financial crisis.  This select committee, to be comprised of members appointed from the Committees on Financial Services, Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and Oversight and Government Reform, is modeled on the Pecora Commission that held hearings in 1932 and 1933 to investigate the roots of the Great Depression.

“The Pecora Commission exposed a wide array of abusive practices by banks at the time of the Depression and resulted in the subsequent enactment of the Glass-Steagal Act of 1933 and Securities Act of 1934.  It is my ardent hope that the resolution I introduce today will foster a coordinated approach among the multiple committees of jurisdiction on this matter and lead to legislation that re-imposes a strict regulatory framework upon the financial services industry.

“As Ferdinand Pecora, the commission’s namesake, remarked about the outcome of its investigation, “Legal chicanery and pitch darkness were the banker’s stoutest allies.”  I urge the members of this body to take heed of Pecora’s words, now more irrefutably accurate than ever, and support this resolution, which will establish a time-tested mechanism by which to investigate and remedy the various unsavory practices that have led our Nation to an economic precipice of gargantuan proportions.

“Thank you, and yield back the balance of my time.”