Support[1] for HR129[2]

Congressional Co-Sponsors to HR-129 (By Date of Signing)

Rep Kaptur, Marcy [OH-9] (introduced 1/3/2013)
Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [NC-3] - 1/3/2013
Rep Michaud, Michael H. [ME-2] - 1/14/2013
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-2] - 1/15/2013
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] - 1/22/2013
Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-7] - 1/22/2013
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] - 1/22/2013
Rep Welch, Peter [VT] - 1/23/2013
Rep Doggett, Lloyd [TX-35] - 1/23/2013
Rep Cicilline, David N. [RI-1] - 2/6/2013
Rep Chu, Judy [CA-27] - 2/6/2013
Rep Lipinski, Daniel [IL-3] - 2/6/2013
Rep Miller, George [CA-11] - 2/6/2013
Rep Peterson, Collin C. [MN-7] - 2/12/2013
Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-25] - 2/13/2013
Rep Davis, Susan A. [CA-53] - 2/13/2013
Rep Cummings, Elijah E. [MD-7] - 2/25/2013
Rep Sanchez, Loretta [CA-46] - 2/25/2013
Rep DeFazio, Peter A. [OR-4] - 2/25/2013
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 2/25/2013
Rep Tierney, John F. [MA-6] - 2/25/2013
Rep Alexander, Rodney [LA-5] - 2/25/2013
Rep Pingree, Chellie [ME-1] - 2/25/2013
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] - 2/26/2013
Rep Green, Gene [TX-29] - 2/26/2013
Rep Coffman, Mike [CO-6] - 2/26/2013
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-13] - 2/28/2013
Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1] - 2/28/2013
Rep Christensen, Donna M. [VI] - 2/28/2013
Rep Grayson, Alan [FL-9] - 3/4/2013
Rep Payne, Donald M., Jr. [NJ-10] - 3/4/2013
Rep Visclosky, Peter J. [IN-1] - 3/11/2013
Rep Eshoo, Anna G. [CA-18] - 3/11/2013
Rep Walz, Timothy J. [MN-1] - 3/11/2013
Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] - 3/11/2013
Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-13] - 3/11/2013
Rep Johnson, Eddie Bernice [TX-30] - 3/11/2013
Rep Edwards, Donna F. [MD-4] - 3/12/2013
Rep Tonko, Paul [NY-20] - 3/12/2013
Rep Thompson, Bennie G. [MS-2] - 3/15/2013
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-13] - 3/15/2013
Rep Brownley, Julia [CA-26] - 3/25/2013
Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] - 3/25/2013
Rep Dingell, John D. [MI-12] - 3/25/2013
Rep Ellison, Keith [MN-5] - 3/25/2013
Rep Fudge, Marcia L. [OH-11] - 3/25/2013
Rep Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. [GA-4] - 3/25/2013
Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-20] - 4/9/2013
Rep Hahn, Janice [CA-44] - 4/9/2013
Rep Markey, Edward J. [MA-5] - 4/9/2013
Rep Yarmuth, John A. [KY-3] - 4/9/2013
Rep Jackson Lee, Sheila [TX-18] - 4/9/2013
Rep Doyle, Michael F. [PA-14] - 4/9/2013
Rep Speier, Jackie [CA-14] - 4/15/2013
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-32] - 4/15/2013
Rep Davis, Danny K. [IL-7] - 4/15/2013

Glass-Steagall on The Hill

Feb. 16, 2013 - Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) raises Glass-Steagall in Senate Banking Hearing

Feb. 13, 2013 - Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) presses Treasury Secretary nominee Jacob Lew on the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall
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Resolutions for Congressional Action introduced Into State Legislatures

January 2013 – Rhode Island | Senate Resolution S10 respectfully urging Congress to Enact "The Return to Prudent Banking Act"
January 2013 – Montana | House Joint Resolution 4 introduced by B. Harris - "Urging the US Congress to enact the Return to Prudent banking act." On Jan. 28 the Committee on Business and Education voted 15 to 5 to table the resolution. Plans are being made to get the bill un-tabled.
January 2013 – Virginia | Senate Joint Resolution 273, introduced January 9, 2013.
January 2013 – Kentucky | Kentucky Senate Concurrent Resolution SCR16 introduced January 2013 and referred to the Banking and Insurance Committee.
February 2013 - Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania House Resolution HR73 "urging the Congress of the United States to support efforts to reinstate the separation of commercial and investment banking functions in effect under the Glass-Steagall Act and supporting H.R. No. 129." The resolution was introduced by Rep. Mark Cohen, has 9 cosponsors and has been referred to the Commerce Committee.
February 2013 - Maryland | House Joint Resolution 3 was introduced for the "Reinstatement of the Separation of Commercial and Investment Banking Functions" with the bipartisan support of 15 Representatives.
February 2013 - South Dakota | Senate Concurrent Resolution 6 was introduced with 69 cosponsors representing a large majority of the 105 total legislators. The resolution requests that Congress "reinstate the separation of commercial and investment banking functions that were in effect under the Glass-Steagall Act".
On Feb. 28 South Dakota became the first state in the nation to pass a resolution urging the U.S. Congress to reinstate Glass-Steagall. SCR 6 passed the State Senate on Feb. 26 by a vote of 19 to 16, and passed the House of Representatives on Feb. 28 by a decisive vote of 67 to 2. The resolution, as passed, will be delivered to the S.D. delegation in Congress.
February 2013 - West Virginia | House Resolution 15 was introduced with 32 cosponsors and "urges Congress to enact H. R. 129, the 'Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2013.'"
February 2013 - Alabama | House Joint Resolution 121 was introduced with the bipartisan support of 18 cosponsors and urges "Congress to support efforts to reinstate the separation of commercial and investment functions in effect under the Glass-Steagall Act."
March 2013 - Washington | Senate Joint Resolution 8009 was introduced by Senators Bob Hasegawa, Marilyn Chase, David Frockt and Adam Kline, asking that "Congress enact legislation that would reinstate the separation of commercial and investment banking functions that were in effect under the Glass-Steagall act." The resolution has been referred to Committee on Financial Institutions, Housing & Insurance.
March 2013 - Maine | A resolution for Glass-Steagall has been approved by the Legislative Council and will come to the floor within the coming weeks.
March 2013 - Rhode Island | Rhode Island State Representatives McLaughlin, Bennett, and Hull introduced a resolution into the House, H5840, strongly urging Congress "to reinstate the restrictions of the Banking Act of 1933, commonly referred to as the Glass-Steagall Act." This House resolution is identical to the Rhode Island Senate resolution already introduced in January.
March 2013 - Hawaii | Four Hawaiian State Representatives introduced House Concurrent Resolution 138 "requesting the United States Congress to take action regarding the separation of commercial and investment banking functions through the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 or similar legislation".
April 2013 - Mississippi | House Resolution 165 was introduced with the support of State Representatives Banks, Calhoun, Evans (70th), Straughter, and Watson.
April 2013 - Minnesota | H.F. 1744 was introduced into the Minnesota House of Representatives "memorializing Congress to enact legislation that would reinstate the separation of commercial and investment banking functions under the Glass-Steagall Act". The bill was initiated by a Republican Representative and has a list of bi-partisan cosponsors. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection Finance and Policy.
April 2013 - North Carolina | H.R. 836 was introduced into the General Assembly "supporting efforts to reinstate the separation of commercial and investment banking functions in effect under the Glass-Steagall Act". All four primary sponsors (three Republicans and one Democrat) are on the Finance Committee.
April 2013 - Indiana | H.R. 0086 was introduced and passed the same day, April 11th, "urging the Congress of the United States to support efforts to reinstate the separation of commercial and investment banking functions in effect under the Glass-Steagall Act and supporting H.R. No. 129." The bi-partisan bill was authored by Representatives Klinker and Truitt.
April 2013 - Colorado | SJM13-002 was introduced into the Senate "Memorializing the United States Congress to enact legislation regarding the regulation of commercial and investment banks." The primary sponsor is Republican Senator Owen Hill. The seven cosponsors, Baumgardner, Brophy, Lambert, Lundberg, Marble, Harvey, and King, are all Republicans. The memorial has been referred to the State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee.

Institutional Support

The Greater Northwest Ohio AFL-CIO headquartered in Toledo passed a resolution in support of HR 129 on January 30th, 2013 and is forwarding the resolution to the Ohio Congressional delegation.
Point #2 of the Oregon Democratic Party's Legislative Agenda is the restoration of Glass-Steagall.
The National Farmers Union, representing farmers and ranchers in 32 states, reiterated support for re-instating the Glass-Steagall banking law, in its annual policy statement, released March 5, 2013 at the conclusion of its yearly convention.

Endorsements from Policy Makers & Notable Individuals

Sen. Maria Cantwell Reiterates Call for Glass-Steagall
" I'd certainly go back to Glass-Steagall and separate commercial and investment banking. And I would basically recapture resources from those banks and put it toward job training and education."

Thomas Hoenig, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Board
“If we don’t make these changes, I think we’re destined to repeat the mistakes of the past,” Hoenig said. “When you mix commercial banking and high-risk broker-dealer activities, you increase the risk overall and as a result you invite new problems.”

Richard Fisher, President of the Dallas Federal Reserve
"Only the resulting downsized commercial banking operations — and not shadow banking affiliates or the parent company — would benefit from the safety net of federal deposit insurance and access to the Federal Reserve's discount window."

Liam Halligan, Chief Economist of Prosperity Capital Management in London
"This Glass-Steagall battle isn't over yet, on either side of the Atlantic. Not by a long chalk. We can only hope it doesn't take another crash to force our governments to see sense...."

Matthew Fink, Director Oppenheimer Mutual Funds, Director Retirement Income Industry Association
"The Glass-Steagall Act and other New Deal measures worked. For decades, the nation avoided lax regulation, excessive speculation, and financial crises."

Robert Reich, Berkeley professor, former US Secretary of Labor
"Also included in that bill -- in order to make sure our future isn't jeopardized by another meltdown of Wall Street -- would be a resurrection of Glass-Steagall and a limit on the size of the biggest banks."

Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN) regrets his vote to repeal Glass-Steagall
"The other vote I made that was really bad is eliminating Glass-Steagall. We should have never done that and I bought into that. You know, if we had Glass-Steagall back, this wouldn't be an issue here ... You're putting taxpayers on the hook."

Gordon H. Hoffner, vice president of the Union Bank of Beulah, ND; Former President of the Independent Community Banks of North Dakota
"Without the provisions of Glass-Steagall, there is nothing in our current regulatory framework that will bring this crisis under control. This is not a party-politics matter; it is a national security question."

Andrew Haldane, Bank of England Executive Director for Financial Stability; Financial Policy Committee member
"Contrast the legislative responses in the two largest financial crises of the past century--the Great Depression and the Great Recession. The Great Depression spawned the Glass-Steagall Act (1933)--perhaps the single most important piece of financial legislation of the 20th century. That ran to a mere 37 pages. More recently, the Great Recession has spawned the Dodd-Frank Act (2010). It runs to 848 pages or more than 20 Glass-Steagalls. Once completed, Dodd-Frank might run to 30,000 pages of rulemaking."

Quentin Kopp, former San Francisco Supervisor, State Senator, and Superior Court Judge
"I'm fiscally responsible and conservative, but I'm no friend of Wall Street. I abhor it. My creed is, bring back Glass-Steagall regulations and you'll take care of those banks."

International Glass-Steagall Developments

Italian MEP Claudio Morganti Calls Again for Glass-Steagall at European Parliament April 16 Plenary. The "simplest" solution would be "to go back to a clear separation between commercial and investment banks, on the model of the American Glass-Steagall Act, whose abolition has provoked a spiral of international financial crises."
Icelandic Parliamentary Committee Unanimously Passes Bank Separation Motion
"Europe's 500," an association of new European firms and "growth companies" issued a release on March 24 in which it calls for Glass-Steagall bank separation.

Links:
[1] http://larouchepac.com/hr129support
[2] http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d113:h.r.00129:

Congress is in Session; Call their offices and meet your Congressmen to Co-sponsor H.R. 129![1] 202-224-3121. Also call your state legislators and demand they introduce or co-sponsor a resolution calling for the U.S. Congress to pass H.R. 129!

Links:
[1] http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d113:h.r.00129:

Hoenig: Roosevelt Enacted The Glass-Steagall Act, from Which Sprang Decades of Stability and Growth

April 19th, 2013 • 9:36 AM

President Franklin D. Roosevelt after signing the Glass-Steagall Act, 1933.

FDIC vice-chairman Thomas Hoenig delivered a useful "primer" on the historical hows and whys of the Glass-Steagall banking regulations, in contrast to the disastrous effects of Gramm-Leach-Bliley between 1999 and the 2007-08 crash, to the annual economics conference of Bard College's Levy Institute on Feb. 17.

Hoenig referred throughout his presentation to the problem of "financial institutions which are too big and complex," and several times showed how this resulted from Gramm-Leach-Bliley and the end of Glass-Steagall, which led to the extension of insurance/discount/bailout protection to everything these huge conglomerates wanted to do.

"At a minimum, the Volcker Rule needs to be implemented as a step.... However, we would do well to go further than the Volcker Rule and move the broker-dealer and trading activities out of the banks and into separate corporate entities. With this action, you redefine the coverage of the safety net and provide opportunity for greater market discipline and, in time, greater financial stability to a broad range of financial activities.

"In its simplest terms, this broader proposal would narrow the public safety net to the purpose for which it was intended. This would involve commercial banking narrowly defined: the payments system that transfers money around the country and the world, and its related intermediation process of transferring funds from depositor to borrower. Commercial banks with the protection of the safety net would again be restricted from engaging in higher risk and return activities such as trading, creating derivatives, or other broker-dealer activities that do not need government protection to function effectively."

In discussing "the role of shadow banks", the FDIC vice-chairman included a "zinger" aimed at the claims (including Obama's, Geithner's, etc.) that the 2008 crashes occurred outside the commercial banking sector, outside Glass-Steagall's influence had it still been in force. "It is sometimes argued that the recent crisis was related more to shadow banks outside the safety net than to commercial banks under the net," Hoenig said. "Lehman Brothers is cited as just such a case. However, Lehman was a commercial bank in the most important sense."(!) There follows a description of how Lehman, Bear Stearns, et al. used "repos" and related derivatives as if they were demand deposits in a commercial bank, and leveraged these "deposits" up to 40:1, borrowing from commercial banks.

Hoenig concluded his prepared remarks by noting, "The actions of two presidents stand out as our country determines how to define the structure and role of the financial system going forward. President Teddy Roosevelt, the trust buster, changed the competitive landscape of America for the good. President Franklin Roosevelt enacted the Glass-Steagall Act, from which coincided with [sic] decades of relative economic stability and financial growth."

In a brief discussion afterward with EIR on the prospects for Glass-Steagall re-enactment in the United States, Hoenig acknowledged that the Bank of England-FDIC 2012 joint paper on "bank resolution" did in fact imply that it can happen here: the seizure of bank deposits in open resolutions of large, insolvent banks.

The written text of Hoenig's presentation is here. [1]

His actual presentation to the conference deviated somewhat from the prepared text, and there was a half-hour of questions and answers that followed his presentation. The audio stream from the Levy Institute can be found here [2].

Links:
[1] http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/speeches/spapr1713.html
[2] http://www.levyinstitute.org/news/?event=45

FBI implicated in contact with Boston Bomber: Entire Boston Area Was in Lockdown

April 20th, 2013 • 10:10 AM

The entire Boston metropolitan area was in total lockdown until early Friday evening, after Thursday night's shootout with the two named suspects in Monday's Boston Marathon bombings and the escape of one of the two young men. Early Friday evening, the FBI and Boston police announced that the virtual state of siege had been lifted, citizens were free to move about, and the subway system and other mass transit would be put back in service. As events transpired later on Friday evening, it turned out that law enforcement had tracked the second suspect to a drydocked boat in the backyard of a house in Watertown. At 8:43 PM, Dzokhar Tsarnaev was taken into custody and removed by ambulance to a local hospital.

According to a report published today by the National Journal's Global Security Newswire, Federal, state and local police, backed up by the National Guard and other military units, activated a longstanding plan, designed to deal with a weapons-of- mass-destruction attack on a major urban area. Governor Deval Patrick had signaled the activation of the WMD plan when he ordered all residents of the Boston metropolitan area to take "shelter-in-place." According to the GSN report, "The idea of staying in place is a disaster response procedure that heretofore has largely been reserved for use in response to a WMD attack or incident involving the release of chemical, biological, nuclear material or a weather emergency such as a tornado or snow storm." Such an overkill approach to a terrorist incident has never happened before in the United States — not when the Washington area snipers were on the loose, not when California police were hunting down a cop killer, and not when the abortion clinic assassin was on the loose.

On Friday evening, a number of other details surfaced about the two brothers, Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev. CNN first reported that the FBI had been asked in 2011 to question the older brother, Tamerlan, by an unidentified foreign government. The FBI reportedly concluded that he had no known links to any terrorist organizations. In fact, the parents of the two alleged bombers confirmed to Russia Today and other Russian news agencies that the two brothers had been contacted by the FBI and had been under watch for 3-5 years, and that the most recent contact by the FBI had occurred in the past six months.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told CNN, "It's new information to me, and it's very disturbing that he's on the FBI's radar screen... If he was on their radar, and they let him out of their sight, then that's an issue, certainly for me." An unnamed FBI official confirmed to CNN that they had made contact with Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011.

It is almost certain that the unnamed foreign government that asked the FBI to question Tamerlan Tsarnaev was the Russian government. Senior intelligence sources close to the Obama State Department and National Security Council had reported on Friday morning that Russian President Putin had made repeated offers to the White House to provide assistance, given that Russia has had decades of experience dealing with Chechen terrorism, and that the modus operandi of the Boston Marathon bombings was similar to recent Chechen terror attacks in Moscow. Jacob Heilbrunn, writing in today's The National Interest, urged that the Obama Administration drop the anti-Russian crap and seek out Moscow's help, since they are the only people with any depth of insight into the Chechen problem.

It should be recalled that in Dec. 2000, EIR had filed a brief with the U.S. State Department urging that the British government be placed on the official list of state sponsors of terrorism, as the result of formal diplomatic protests by nine governments — including the Russian government — over British protection and financing of known terrorists. The Russians cited specific incidents in Britain, where recruiting was allowed to go on in the open for jihadist fighters to be trained in Afghanistan, to then be sent to Chechnya to fight against Russia.

While there remain too many unanswered questions to cite here at this time about the Boston incidents, one thing is perfectly clear: Such acts of irregular warfare and blind terrorism will continue to take place until the Anglo-Saudi top-down control of global terrorism is shut down via full public exposure and prosecution. One vital starting point is the release of the 28 pages of the original Joint Congressional investigation of 9/11, which has been suppressed by Presidents Bush and Obama, and which reveal details of the Saudi Monarchy's funding of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Congress Members Reject NASA Mars & Planetary Cuts

April 20th, 2013 • 12:37 PM

A letter opposing the sequester cuts that would further gut NASA programs for the exploration Mars and other planetary missions was sent to NASA administration Charles Bolden, signed by a bipartisan group of members of the Senate and the House. Spaceref.com posted the letter on April 19 under the headline, "Call on NASA to Not Gut Planetary Science". Initiated by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the letter was joined by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

The text of the letter says:

Dear Administrator Bolden:

We write to express opposition to any Fiscal Year 2013 NASA Operating Plan that disproportionately applies sequester and across-the-board cuts to the Science budget.

Both the House and Senate rejected the Administration's FY 13 budget proposal to drastically reduce available funding for the Mars, Outer Planets and Discovery missions, within Planetary Science. H.R. 933 and the accompanying report language provide NASA specific instructions on how to fund a balanced Planetary Science portfolio:

* $192,000,000 for Planetary Science Research;

* $243,980,000 for Discovery;

* $175,000,000 for New Frontiers;

* $450,800,000 for Mars Exploration; and

* $159,000,000 for Outer Planets.

The report provides further instruction for the Mars and Outer Planets programs:

- "Within the amount provided for Mars Exploration, $146,400,000 is for the continued development of the MAVEN mission, $65,000,000 is for operation of the Mars Science Laboratory and $239,400,000 is for other Mars activities, including the formulation of a future Mars mission that is responsive to the scientific goals of the most recent planetary science decadal survey and the potential completion of instrumentation or other contributions to international Mars exploration efforts."

- "Within the amount provided for Outer Planets, $75,000,000 shall be for pre-formulation and/or formulation activities in support of a mission that achieves the scientific goals laid out in the Jupiter Europa section of the most recent planetary science decadal survey. These activities include, but are not limited to, concept studies and concept development, technology development and requirements definition."

While we fully understand that the funding levels enumerated in the bill and report are subject to change to reflect the across the board and sequester cuts, we expect that the balance among programs will remain consistent with the structure directed by Congress. We appreciate your personal attention to this matter and look forward to working with you to ensure a workable and robust Planetary Sciences program.

House Presses Ahead on Investigation of Benghazi Attack

U.S. Embassy at Benghazi, Libya, night of September 11, 2012.

April 19th, 2013 • 9:53 AM

During testimony yesterday to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the foreign affairs budget, Secretary of State John Kerry politely conveyed the impression that he found the committee members' demands for specific information about the September 2012 Benghazi attack rather tiresome, but he was willing, if really necessary, to have someone work with them about it. The members, equally politely, were having none of it.

As reported by CQ Transcripts, Chairman Ed Royce (R-Cal.) in his opening statement noted that questions from the committee remain unanswered, and after Kerry's statement, Royce remarked, "This committee has been frustrated in obtaining documents and other information from the Department concerning the Benghazi terrorist attacks. Of course, our investigation predates your tenure. So I'm hopeful we'll be able to resolve this as you get your team in place, so that we can move forward on this important issue."

Kerry responded with extended remarks about how much information had already been provided, including video of the attack and the FBI interviews of all the people involved. "So if you have additional questions or, you think there's some document that somehow you need, I'll work with you to try to get it and see if we can provide that to you."

This was a bit too much for Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Cal.), who said, "... I have to just disagree for a minute. Instead of handing over copies of the documents and records that we've requested, as has always been customary practice in the past, the Department has insisted that the Committee staff sift through thousands of pages of materials in a room in which they are monitored by the Department and they can't remove any, or make electronic copies, of those documents. Mr. Secretary, these are unclassified documents that relate to the critical issue of Embassy security, and the Department is literally spending thousands of tax payers' dollars a week to slow the progress of the Committee's review. So this has resulted in a great deal of wasted time and money. I think it runs contrary to the Administration's promise of increased transparency and I hope you will reconsider the Department's position on this issue."

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (D-Cal.) piped up that they hadn't received the names of the persons who'd been evacuated from Benghazi, and "... the State Department has flooded us with paper for some of the more insignificant things."

Kerry responded to Rohrabacher, "I can promise you that if you're not getting something that you have evidence of or you think you ought to be getting, we'll work with you. And I will appoint somebody to work directly with you, starting tomorrow, with you, Mr. Chairman, to have a review of anything you don't think you've gotten that you're supposed to get."

Later in the hearing, Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) demurred that the committee had asked for the video but hadn't received it. He also said that he was submitting "several written questions that were put together by 700 retired special forces operators that are in regard to Benghazi, and I'd just like a written response."

Elsewhere in the House, CBS News reported yesterday afternoon that "multiple new whistleblowers" are talking to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about Benghazi; no details were provided. The report further said that the Committee had sent letters to the CIA, the Department of Defense, and the State Department, which "make the case for the whistleblowers to be able to share sensitive or classified information with their own attorneys, and ask for each agency's description of the legal steps that process must follow." Those letters reportedly also stated that additional witnesses may be compelled by subpoena to give testimony, which would refer to witnesses unwilling to volunteer information.

Meanwhile, the Washington Times reported that Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) said yesterday that 110 members of the House were backing his resolution for a select committee to investigate the attack.