Lawmaker Says Lehman Collapse Cost Local Officials $1.7 Billion

A lawmaker says the collapse of Lehman Brothers cost 40 municipalities nationwide around $1.7 billion and devastated local services in a county she represents.

Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., is telling House lawmakers Tuesday that San Mateo County lost $155 million as a result of the Wall Street firm's meltdown in September 2008.

She says county officials were "not rolling the dice to optimize their dollars. They invested in the safest, most conservative instruments."

Lehman's collapse was the biggest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history. It threw global financial markets into crisis.

The hearing will examine what led to the collapse of Lehman and will probe a bankruptcy examiner's report that the firm masked $50 billion in debt.