Former SEC commissioner Paul S. Atkins has been appointed to the congressional panel overseeing the $700 billion financial bailout. Atkins served as SEC commissioner from 2002-2008.
The AP reports that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he had appointed Atkins to the vacancy on the Congressional Oversight Panel created after former Sen. John Sununu stepped down in July. The panel was created as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and is designed to provide an additional layer of oversight, beyond the Special Inspector General for the TARP and regular audits by the Government Accountability Office.
