Congress Names Panel to Probe Origins of Finanical Crisis

Democrats and Republicans announced their picks today to form a committee to investigate the origins of the financial crisis that spurred the current recession, now in its 19th month.

The Democratic committee members, announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), include:

-- Phil Angelides, treasurer of Pelosi's home state, as chairman.
-- Brooksley Born, a former chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission who sounded early alarms on derivatives.
-- John W. Thompson, chairman of software giant Symantec.
-- Former senator Bob Graham, Democrat from Florida.
-- Heather Murren, a former Merrill Lynch executive.
-- Byron Georgiou, a Las Vegas businessman and lawyer, who serves on the advisory board of the Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance.

The Republican picks, announced by House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), include:

-- Former House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas as vice chairman.
-- Peter Wallison, co-director for financial policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
-- Former Congressional Budget Office director Doug Holtz-Eakin.
-- Former National Economic Council director Keith Hennessey.

It's worth noting that the Democrats get six seats on the 10-member committee and the Republicans get only four.

-- Frank Ahrens
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