Wall Street heavyweights testify before FCIC as economic inquiry heads for Bakersfield, Calif.

Phil Angelides, left, and Bill Thomas

As the congressionally appointed Fiscal Crisis Inquiry Commission prepares to begin “field hearings” in four economically devastated cities, it has announced that a lineup of Wall Street and federal heavyweights will testify before commissioners this week in Washington, D.C.


Wednesday’s hearings will focus on Wachovia Corp. and Lehman Brothers, with witnesses including: Scott G. Alvarez, general counsel, the Federal Reserve System; John H. Corston, acting deputy director, Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.; Robert K. Steel, former president and CEO, Wachovia Corp.; Thomas C. Baxter, Jr., general counsel and executive vice president, Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Richard S. Fuld Jr., former chairman and CEO, Lehman Brothers; Harvey R. Miller, business finance & restructuring partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP; and Barry L. Zubrow, chief risk officer, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Thursday’s hearing will focus on the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., with witnesses including: Ben S. Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman; and Sheila C. Bair, U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairwoman.

Commissioners will hold their first “field hearing” in Bakersfield, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 7. Subsequent hearings will be held in Las Vegas, Nev.; Miami, Fla.; and Sacramento, Calif. California’s former Treasurer Phil Angelides, a Democrat of Sacramento, is chairman of the FCIC, with former Republican Rep. Bill Thomas of Bakersfield the commission’s vice-chairman.

The commission was created by Congress last year to hold hearings and investigate the causes of the nation’s economic meltdown. The 10-member bipartisan FCIC is required to report its findings to Congress by Dec. 15.

On the same day the commission announced its new round of hearings, President Obama challenged Congress to set aside politics and pass his administrations Small Business Jobs and Credit Act, which includes tax cuts and incentives for small business. The act is being blocked in the Senate primarily by Republican opposition.

“Holding this bill hostage is directly detrimental to our economic growth,” Obama said in a Rose Garden speech Monday. “I know we’re entering election season. But the people who sent us here expect us to work together to get things done and improve this economy.

“There is no reason to block it besides pure partisan politics,” said Obama. “Small business owners and the communities that rely on them, they don’t have time for political games.”

In a statement released before Obama’s remarks, House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio once again urged the president to fire his economic team, including Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

In announcing next week’s hearing in Bakersfield, Thomas told The Bakersfield Californian, “This is the first time we’re going out to the community level … There’s (comparison of) Main Street versus Wall Street. This is going to be Main Street.”

Central California, including Bakersfield, is staggering from high foreclosure and unemployment rates.

From Wall Street to Main Street: FCIC Takes Economic Inquiry to Bakersfield, Calif.

Phil Angelides, left, and Bill Thomas

The pain just doesn’t go away as the nation’s economic problems continue to devastate millions of American families. Members of the Fiscal Crisis Inquiry Commission will listen to real people’s pain on Sept. 7, when they hold their first “field hearing” in Bakersfield, Calif., in the heart of the foreclosure crisis.

The 10-member bipartisan commission was created by Congress last year to examine the causes of the financial meltdown. Its chairman is former California Treasurer Phil Angelides, a Democrat, and retired Bakersfield Rep. Bill Thomas, a Republican.

Wall Street financial giants, economists and federal regulators have been hauled before the commission during a series of often contentious hearings held this year in Washington, D.C., and New York. Commissioners have a Dec. 15 deadline to present their findings to Congress.

Commissioners announced Thursday that they intend to take their inquiry on the road, with their first stop being in Bakersfield, Thomas’ home town. Three additional field hearings have been scheduled: Las Vegas, Nev., on Sept. 8; Miami, Fla., on Sept. 21; and Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 23. Sacramento is chairman Angelides’ home town.

The focus of the hearings and list of witnesses who will be called has not yet been announced. However, the hearings are intended to highlight how actions on Wall Street have affected life on Main Street. Plummeting property values, a persistently high unemployment rate, record-setting foreclosures and community bank failures are effects that are evident on the streets of Bakersfield, the city that will host the commission’s first field hearing.

The one-day hearing is expected to be filled with testimony from witnesses representing the financial and real estate industries. People who are victims of the financial crisis also will have an opportunity to testify and present written comment.