Every week, 2,000 - 3,000 Second District residents write to me about the issues pending before Congress, and I work hard to respond to each person as promptly and thoughtfully as possible. On this "Letter of the Week" blog, I highlight constituent letters that are of general interest. If you'd like to share your own views, please feel free to e-mail me at any time!

Dear Representative Boyda,

In light of America's recent investment of tax dollars in our financial sector, it is time for elected officials to improve oversight over financial and other essential services. Not only must we hold financial corporations accountable, it is time to reexamine our regulatory failure in many arenas.

In the last several years we have witnessed regulatory failures in areas as diverse as food and drug safety to mortgage and credit card lending. The failure of our system of financial oversight is the most recent--and striking--example of a failure to put people before corporations and enforce fair rules for everyone.

We are now at an historic crossroads, and I'm calling on you to embrace what has been out of style for some time for many elected officials--strong and independent government oversight that assures a competitive, fair, transparent marketplace and intervenes appropriately when individuals cannot protect themselves.

I urge you to begin to enact strong consumer protections early next year that include:

* Protecting bank customers from unfair banking and loan fees, including unfair and predatory lending practices. Help ensure adequate checks and balances in the financial system to protect consumers. 

* Protecting credit card customers from abusive credit card practices. Consumers shouldn't continue to be gouged by excessive credit card rates and fees by financial institutions that are going to benefit from the financial bailout. 

* Strengthening food oversight to address the numerous food safety problems that are plaguing our nation. 

* Fixing a broken health care system that is driving health care costs through the roof, while making  coverage unaffordable for millions and completely out of reach for millions more. 

We need a different approach from the deregulatory one we have taken over the last several decades. Let us ensure adequate enforcement and consumer protection by making it a top priority for regulatory agencies to do their jobs, and let us be sure to adequately fund them. State AGs and state law enforcement should also serve as additional "cops on the beat" to help enforce consumer protection standards.

Free markets are ever changing, and, as we have seen, abusive practices can easily take hold without effective oversight that is committed to consumer protection. Smart government regulations can and should be used to prevent abuses and put our nation back on the right track. 

Gina in Lawrence

Dear Gina,

I have heard from countless constituents frustrated over our nation’s current economic crisis.  They are upset that they must carry the burden of failing financial institutions and want to know why the government is not demanding more transparency and accountability from the parties involved. I agree.  Taxpayers deserve to know the truth.  There needs to be a thorough investigation into the financial institutions, corporations, and individuals suspected of criminal acts contributing to this economic crisis.  Any criminal activity should be brought to light and any perpetrators should face the consequences for violating the laws of our land. 

As many of you know I voted against the first Wall Street bailout because the experts I met with told me that it was unlikely to repair the damage in our credit markets and very unlikely to fix the problems in the broader economy. With a price tag of $700 billion, it has left us with fewer options to fix the underlying problems. 

I saw this report in the papers on October 19, 2008:
Since 2004, F.B.I. officials have warned that mortgage fraud posed a looming threat, and the bureau has repeatedly asked the Bush administration for more money to replenish the ranks of agents handling non-terrorism investigations, according to records and interviews. But each year, the requests have been denied, with no new agents approved for financial crimes, as policy makers focused on counterterrorism. According to previously undisclosed internal F.B.I. data, the cutbacks have been particularly severe in staffing for investigations into white-collar crimes like mortgage fraud, with a loss of 625 agents, or 36 percent of its 2001 levels. 

This infuriated me. When I read this article I sought out my colleague Representative Ted Poe, a conservative republican from Texas, and sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Muckasey asking him to change this ridiculous policy. 

It already seems apparent that, over the last several years, many financial firms took bigger and bigger risks.  As long as the risks were paying off, the companies made huge profits.  When the tide changed, the companies came running to the taxpayer for help absorbing the losses.  Privatizing profits and socializing losses is terrible public policy and it has to change.  If people are going to enjoy the benefits of their successes, they must suffer the consequences of their failures.  Facing criminal investigations and being held accountable to the American people are an important part of facing the consequences.  

It is critical that we figure out what went wrong so that we can put a halt to it.  If we're going to prevent these crises from happening again, we need to understand what caused them.  Thank you for reading this and I hope that you will continue to keep in touch and let me know whenever I may be of future assistance.  

Very truly yours,

Nancy Boyda
Member of Congress