123STA T . 1 6 26 PUBLIC LA W 111 – 21 —M A Y 2 0, 200 9(C)2me m b e rs s hal lbea p p oint e d b y the minority leader o f the S enate , in c ons u ltation w ith rele v ant Commit - tees
and ( D ) 2 members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the H ouse of R epresentatives, in consultation with relevant Committees . (2) QUALIF I C A T I ONS
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M ITATION. — ( A ) I N GE NE R AL.—It is the sense of the Con g ress that individuals appointed to the Commission should be promi- nent U nited States citi z ens with national recognition and significant depth of e x perience in such fields as ban k ing, regulation of markets, taxation, finance, economics, con- sumer protection, and housing. ( B ) L IMITATION.— N o person who is a member of Con- gress or an officer or employee of the F ederal G overnment or any State or local government may serve as a member of the Commission. ( 3 )C H AIR P ERSON; V ICE CHAIRPERSON.— (A) IN GENERAL.—Sub j ect to the re q uirements of subparagraph (B), the Chairperson of the Commission shall be selected jointly by the M ajority Leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the V ice Chairperson shall be selected jointly by the Minority Leader of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. (B) P OLITICAL PART Y AFFILIATION.— T he Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Commission may not be from the same political party. ( 4 ) MEETINGS, Q UORUM; VACANCIES.— (A) MEETINGS.— (i) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of the Commission shall be as soon as possible after a quorum of members have been appointed. (ii) SU B SEQUENT MEETINGS.—After the initial meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall meet upon the call of the Chairperson or a majority of its members. (B) QUORUM.— 6 members of the Commission shall con- stitute a quorum. (C) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Commission shall— (i) not affect the powers of the Commission; and (ii) be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made. (c) FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION.—The functions of the Commission are— ( 1 ) to examine the causes of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States, specifically the role of— (A) fraud and abuse in the financial sector, including fraud and abuse towards consumers in the mortgage sector; (B) Federal and State financial regulators, including the extent to which they enforced, or failed to enforce statutory, regulatory, or supervisory requirements; (C) the global imbalance of savings, international cap- ital flows, and fiscal imbalances of various governments; (D) monetary policy and the availability and terms of credit;
