Editor's Choice for the Week of December 7, 2009: Fiduciary, Retail, and Hearings

In Congress, there will be plenty of heat, if not light, as the Senate continues its floor debate on healthcare reform legislation starting on Monday the 7th, while in the Senate committees, there are hearings on December 8th by the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on various alternative energy and energy efficiency bills; while on the 9th, the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on Economic Policy will examine how to create jobs in the recession. On the same day the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings examining mortgage fraud, securities fraud, and the financial meltdown, “focusing on prosecuting those responsible,” while on the 10th, the Joint Economic Committee of Congress will also hold hearings on creating jobs.

Perhaps even bigger hearings begin December 8th in the House, where the full Financial Services Committee will meet on the “Private Sector and Government Response to the Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis,” while on the 9th, the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises will hold hearings on additional reforms to the omnibus Securities Protection Act.