Jerry Lewis Answers Constituents/Occupiers

Congressman Jerry Lewis has provided answers to four questions posed to him by constituents and members of Occupy Redlands.

Occupiers have written, called and emailed the representative's office almost daily in an effort to schedule a meeting in person or by phone.

The group has questions for Lewis - who will represent Loma Linda and Redlands through the end of the year - on issues such as unemployment and foreclosures. They said they have gotten few answers.

"The Congressman does not expect to be back in the district for some time because of the Appropriations Committee schedule ... but (Congressman Lewis) will do what he can to meet with his constituents when he is home again," wrote Jim Specht, deputy chief of staff for Rep. Lewis.

Below are the answers to Lewis' contsituents.

What does Congressman Lewis think about the STOCK (Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge) Act (H.R.1148 / S.1871) that is currently being discussed in Washington?

Congressman Lewis opposes the use of insider information by Congress and other government officials to make investments. He has been careful to provide full accounting every year through his personal financial disclosure as required by law. He supports the goals of the current legislation, but believes the language needs to be refined to ensure that members and staff are not entirely blocked from making any kind of investments. He looks forward to being able to vote on a revised bill that is being developed by the House Financial Services Committee.

What are the congressman's thoughts on the GAO Audit Report and subsequent analysis by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders that revealed a significant number of conflicts of interest between private banks and the Federal Reserve?

The GAO report warned of potential conflicts that could develop because of the way the regional Federal Reserve banks are structured. However, the report states that the GAO did not discover any actual conflicts and determined that the Fed and its regional banks have very effective controls to protect against such conflicts. Congressman Lewis believes that Congress should not intervene until after the Federal Reserve moves forward with promised reforms. In any case, the issue will be handled by the Financial Services Committee, and he is not a member of that committee.

Is he concerned with the lack of transparency within the Fed? (Occupy Redlands has been citing a Bloomberg News report published Nov. 28, 2011 on the Federal Reserve loaning out $7.77 Trillion dollars without congressional knowledge.)

Rep. Lewis has co-sponsored legislation authored by Rep. Ron Paul that would require more transparency from the Federal Reserve.

With hindsight, would Congressman Lewis have changed the way he voted on Dodd-Frank or for that matter TARP?

Congressman Lewis still believes the Dodd-Frank legislation will lead to higher fees and more restrictions on gaining credit for everyday Americans. He is convinced the bill was too broad and would support reforms. With regard to TARP, he regrets that it was necessary, but still believes that it was essential at the time to stabilize the U.S. banking system and avoid economic disaster.