More Oversight Necessary To Protect Consumers Says Bernanke

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wants Congress to make it less profitable for financial firms to collapse. On Thursday, he explained to members of the House Financial Services Committee that they should look into removing incentives for firms to become “too big to fail.”

"One of the big concerns about these large firms [is] they are not subject to the discipline of the market because lenders do not believe that this firm will be allowed to fail. That has to be eliminated and fixed... I would not be satisfied with any resolution authority that did not have a strong presumption and a strong mechanism for allowing these firms, when being taken over by the government, to impose significant losses on not only shareholders but also creditors,” Bernanke said, referring to his support of a new consumer protection agency proposed by the Obama administration.

In addition to the creation of an oversight council, or “resolution regime,” comprised of various financial agency and department representatives, to “monitor and identify emerging systemic risks across the full range of financial institutions and markets,” Bernanke’s suggestions for financial reform also included allowing Congress to grant federal agencies the power to respond to risks posed by firms under their scope.

After proposing tighter regulatory measures for large firms, such as Lehman Brothers, Bernanke advised the committee to consider stricter regulatory lending policies for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as the Federal Housing Administration.

"I think in the near future we need to have a plan for Fannie and Freddie...I think the GSEs do need to be addressed in the near term, not just for systemic risk reasons, but because there's a lot of uncertainty in housing and what's going to happen to the housing structure, housing finance system. So I hope that in the very near future, I believe that's the intention, I hope in the very near future we'll have some proposals on that," he said.

When asked by Rep. Jeb Hansarling (R-Texas), the committee's top Republican, whether or not the current administration’s proposed agency would negatively impact the job sector, Bernanke replied, “It depends,” adding later that only an overreaction - in the form of too much regulation - on the part of Congress would threaten the jobs market.

Reps From Both Sides Gather To Promote New Health IT Initiatives

Allowing hospitals and doctors' offices to share patients' health records electronically will reduce medical costs and streamline the nation's healthcare system said Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) during a news conference to promote National Health IT Week on Tuesday.

"Information technology is the key to really addressing so many of the woes of our healthcare system [including] the fact that we have 100,000 medical errors every year that are due principally to the fact that we don't have the right information at the right time at the provider's fingertips at the point of delivery of care...As such, we're not able to take care of those people properly and...it results in more and more hospitalizations and unneeded duplication of care over and over again adding to the cost of our healthcare system."

Joining Kennedy at the news conference were fellow Reps. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.), Dennis Moore (D-Kan.), Michael Burgess (R-Texas), Tim Murphy (D-Pa.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), CIO for Brigham and Women's/Faulkner Hospitals Sue Schade and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Board Chair Barry Chaiken, M.D.

Said Gingrey, an OB/GYN himself, "There is so much importance to health information technology...Although there are many things in the five bills on healthcare reform that have come through the House and the Senate where I take exception to, certainly the efforts in regard to health information technology and electronic medical records I am supportive of." Gingrey added that he has introduced bills in each of the last several sessions of Congress that would allow small medical practices to expense the cost of overhauling their system of records.

Under the current healthcare system in the U.S., patients' files are kept only in print form. Proponents of electronic record sharing argue that the paper system fails patients and doctors alike in cases of emergency or situations involving travel.

"Health IT brings the 18th century medical paper file system into 21st century medical care by providing crucial information in a secure and confidential manner in a matter of seconds," said Murphy.

Conversely, advocates of the current system believe that an electronically-based system would create privacy as well as cost concerns. However, Kennedy, who is Co-Chair of the 21st Century Health Care Caucus, argued that there is broad support nationwide for implementing health IT measures, noting that Congress allocated more than $20 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for such initiatives.

Senators Introduce Legislation To Combat Potential Biological Attack

On Congress's first day back from its month-long recess, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) announced legislation aimed at preparing the nation for the possibility of a near-future terrorist attack. In a news conference on Tuesday, Lieberman, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced the Weapons of Mass Destruction Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2009.

The bill comes in response to warnings issued by former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and former Senators Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and Jim Talent (R-Mo.) that a biological terrorist attack is likely to occur somewhere in the world by 2013. The latter two co-chaired a Congressionally-mandated "Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism."

In October of 2008, McConnell told a conference of intelligence officials and contractors that one of the biggest challenges President Barack Obama would face in his first year in office would be the possibility of an attack by a biological agent, which he said might "create casualties greater than 9/11."

Said Lieberman, the "consequences of a [Weapons of Mass Destruction] attack would be severe," adding that his committee's bill "would implement many of the recommendations of the Graham-Talent assessment."

Among them are heightened security measures for labs in the U.S. and abroad that work on the pathogens most likely to be used by terrorists in a biological attack, improved intelligence and bioforensics and enhanced safety for emergency responders and their families.

"We are losing ground in terms of our protection against a weapon of mass destruction being used in the United States," said Graham, who served in the Senate from 1987 to 2005. "The clock is not our friend as we face this imminent threat," he added.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the committee's ranking Republican member, stated that if passed, the bill would allocate individual grants of $50 million during each of the next four years to help fund the cost of legislation. Collins said that a lack of funding for biological attack prevention is what prompted her to support the bill. She added that the legislation would provide the federal government with the legal authority necessary to regulate biolab security in the U.S.

"Lax security is very troubling...inadequate security at these labs threatens all of us," said Collins.

Lieberman said that although he expects some bureaucratic infighting to take place, he hopes that the bill will pass the Senate by the end of this year.

"Threats against the American people are out there and [they are] evolving," said Lieberman. "Yet the fact is that we're not properly prepared."

Indiana Congressman Calls For White House 'Green Jobs' Czar To Resign

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) issued a statement Friday calling for Van Jones, a member of President Barack Obama's Council on Environmental Quality, to resign from his position, and urged the President to suspend future appointments of “Czars" pending a Congressional review.

“Given recent revelations concerning the associations and statements of the president's green jobs czar, Van Jones should resign his position and if he is unwilling to do so, the president should demand his resignation. His extremist views and coarse rhetoric have no place in this Administration or the public debate," said Pence, who is the Chairman of the House Republican Conference.

Jones, who declared himself a "communist" at one point in the 1990's, apologized on Wednesday for signing a 2004 petition calling on former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and others to launch an investigation into evidence that suggests Bush administration officials may have knowingly allowed the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to happen.

In the apology, Jones said, "I do not agree with this statement and it certainly does not reflect my views now or ever."

Yesterday, Jones issued a second mea culpa, this time for disparaging remarks he made about the GOP prior to becoming a member of the Obama administration. Responding to a question following a lecture on energy he gave in Berkely, Calif. this past February, Jones called Republicans "assholes."

"In recent days some in the news media have reported on past statements I made before I joined the administration...If I have offended anyone with statements I made in the past, I apologize," stated Jones in his apology, adding that the remarks "do not reflect the views of this administration."

In his statement, Pence called for additional oversight for the appointment of Czars, whose positions do not require Senate confirmation.

“In the wake of these recent revelations, the president should suspend any further appointments of so-called 'czars' until Congress has an opportunity to examine the background and responsibilities of these individuals and to determine the constitutionality of such appointments, which have spanned multiple administrations," he said.

Health Care Reform Must Do More To Address Men's Health Issues

Scott Williams, Vice President of the Men's Health Network, a non-profit organization located in Washington, D.C., says Congress must ensure that reform legislation addresses health issues that specifically affect males. Williams says his organization would prefer that the legislation include a mandate for the creation of an Office of Men's Health within the U.S. Department of Health. This office, or task force, says Williams, would focus on promoting awareness of and early detection of medical conditions such as prostate cancer.

Click on the audio icon below to listen to Talk Radio News Service's Geoff Holtzman interview Scott Williams. (8:23)