Wendy Lee Gramm
Wendy Lee Gramm | |
---|---|
Member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission | |
In office April 15, 1985 – April 15, 1995 | |
President | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton |
Chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission | |
In office February 22, 1988 – January 22, 1993 | |
President | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Susan M. Phillips |
Succeeded by | William P. Albrecht (Acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | PhD ) | January 10, 1945
Occupation | Economist, scholar |
Wendy Lee Gramm (born January 10, 1945) is an American economist who led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Reagan administration.[1] She is also the wife of former United States Senator Phil Gramm. Gramm has gained notoriety for her role in the Enron scandal.[2]
Early life
Wendy Lee Gramm was born in
Career
Wendy Lee Gramm held several positions in the
Her husband's 1996 presidential bid was cut short by a political scandal arising from his past investments in the porn industry, which led the New York Post to nickname him "Porno Gramm".[9][10][11]
While on the board of directors, she received donations from Enron to support the Mercatus Center. According to Public Citizen, Enron paid between $915,000 and $1.85 million in salary from 1993 to 2001.[2] Enron also became the biggest donor to Phil Gramm's political actions. Just under $100,000 went to his campaigns between 1999 and 2001. In 1999, the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act was passed, which repealed part of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933, prohibiting any institution from acting as any combination of an investment bank, a commercial bank, and an insurance company. It allowed over-the-counter trading of derivatives, which had previously been restricted to regulated exchanges.[12]
In 1998, she declared "In my view, there are no systemic problems in the OTC derivatives market”.[12] In 1999, she sold her shares of Enron ($300,000), asserting that being a director and a shareholder of the company constituted a conflict of interest.[13]
Prior to George W. Bush's election, Phil Gramm introduced the Commodity Futures Modernization Act which deregulated the trading of derivatives.[8]
After news of the Enron scandal became public in October 2001, Gramm and the other directors of the energy company were named in several investor lawsuits, many of which have been settled. In particular, Gramm and other Enron directors agreed to a $168 million settlement in a suit from the University of California. As part of it, the directors agreed to collectively pay $13 million to settle claims of insider trading.[14] The remainder of the settlement was to be paid by insurance.
After Enron, she became head of the Regulatory Studies Program of the Mercatus Center. She expressed no regrets regarding the Enron debacle, which she considered a success.[13] On November 1, 2007, she became the chairperson of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.[15] In 2011, she appeared on a television spot with her husband, calling on Texans to shoulder the burden of the economic crisis.[16] On October 1, 2019, she resigned as the chairman of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.[17]
Gramm also served as a director of the
Ronald Reagan once described Gramm as "[his] favorite economist."[19]
Personal life
Wendy Lee Gramm met her husband when she was interviewed by him as a Ph.D. student for a position at Texas A&M University. Phil Gramm, a senior professor 3 years older than Gramm, expressed his interest in her after the interview. Six weeks later, she arrived on campus, and they wed.[20]
She has two sons: Jeff, who is in the indie-rock band
References
- ^ Hershey Jr., Robert D. (1986-02-26). "Working Profile: Wendy Lee Gramm; That Other Gramm Of Power and Sway". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
- ^ a b Herbert, Bob (2002-01-17). "Enron And the Gramms". The NY Times. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
- ^ "Wendy Gramm". FRONTLINE | PBS. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
- ^ a b "Ronald Reagan: Nomination of Wendy Lee Gramm To Be a Commissioner and Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
- ^ "Dr. Wendy Lee Gramm" (PDF). 2016-04-08. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ "Clean Air Villain of the Month". www.cleanairtrust.org. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- ^ "Clinton, Reagan, Bush Administration Regulatory Chiefs Endorse Portman-Warner Reform Bill - Press Releases - Newsroom - Rob Portman". www.portman.senate.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ a b "The Whore of Enron". Daily Kos. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- ^ "'Porn' scandal rocks Gramm". The Independent. 1995-05-19. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- ^ a b Hoefle, John (24 May 2002). "Miss Enron and Senator Shylock: The Corrupt Saga of Wendy and Phil Gramm" (PDF). EIR. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Wendy Gramm has no regrets". Salon. 2004-01-28. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- ^ Davis, Trey (2005-01-05). "UC reaches $168-million settlement with Enron directors in securities fraud case". University of California Office of the President. Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
- ^ "Gramm Elected Chairman of Texas Public Policy Foundation". Texas Public Policy Foundation. 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
- ^ "Airing on TV Now: Phil & Wendy Gramm!". The Texas Observer. 2011-05-05. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- ^ "TPPF Announces the Appointment of Thomas Lyles as Chairman of the Board". Texas Public Policy Foundation. 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
- ^ Ronnee Schreiber, 'Pro-Women, Pro-Palin, Antifeminist: Conservative Women and Conservative Movement Politics', in Crisis of Conservatism? The Republican Party, the Conservative Movement, & American Politics After Bush, Gillian Peele, Joel D. Aberbach (eds.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 134
- ^ "Wendy Lee Gramm 1/4 | Asian American Wonder Women | GoldSea". www.goldsea.com. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
- ^ "The Red Pill Post # 16874". Investors Hub. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- ^ "MIB: Jeff Gramm on Activist Investing". The Big Picture. 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ Marquardt, Lucas (January 28, 2017). "Gramm Shines as Owner, Handicapper". Thoroughbred Daily News. Retrieved 2019-01-24.