Bipartisan wariness about expanded Treasury authority
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}They haven't agreed on much of late but it appears that Democratic and Republican House leaders are united in skepticism about the latest White House plan for increased authority to seize financial institutions.
"This is an unprecedented grab of power and before that occurs, there ought to be a real debate about whether we should give that authority to the Treasury Secretary," Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) told reporters Tuesday morning.
About an hour later, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) also expressed wariness about another expansion in treasury authority.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We are talking about huge sums of money, huge consequences for one individual...at this point in time I want to look it more carefully," Hoyer said. "Obviously one of the issues that Congress is concerned about is the delegation of authority."
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner asked Congress Tuesday to give the White House unprecedented powers to seize large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, leaping beyond its present authority to seize only banks.
Hoyer added that he plans to speak to Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and other committee heads about whether the initial proposal requires greater congressional oversight.