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WASHINGTON -- We have questions about the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. And we’re not alone.
Turns out lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are scrutinizing the Bush administration’s plan today as they face enormous pressure to approve what experts are calling the biggest government intervention in the U.S. economy in history.
We still don’t know, for example, who would decide the value of the lousy mortgage-backed securities the taxpayers are about to buy. Or what kind of oversight would be established for the private firms facilitating the transactions. Or whether assistance would trickle down to homeowners in Nevada who are being foreclosed upon at rates greater than anywhere else in the country.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today that while Democrats are prepared to act swiftly, they will not “let haste abandon good judgment.”
“The Bush Administration has called on Congress to rubber stamp its bailout legislation without serious debate or efforts to improve it. That will not happen,” Reid said Monday afternoon.
President Bush and congressional Republican leaders urged the Hill to quickly approve the White House plan so as not to further antagonize the already distressed markets.
And that was before the stock market nosedived again today.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said that when you’re house is on fire, you don’t stop and ask the firemen for smoke detectors. “You want them to put out the fire,” McConnell said this afternoon.
He warned against using the Bush administration’s plan as “flypaper for partisan add-ons.”
Democrats are unveiling alternative legislation that would provide various levels of oversight to the White House plan, limit golden parachutes for executives and offer homeowners foreclosure relief.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are suggesting improvements.
One key element for homeowners in the bill put forward today by Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is a controversial provision to give bankruptcy judges enhanced authority to write down mortgages.
Bankruptcy judges can already reduce mortgages to market values for vacation homes, but Democrats want to extend that power to first homes. A similar provision was killed when Democrats tried to include it in the housing relief bill that became law earlier this year.
“The Bush Administration’s bill is a starting point; by no means the final product,” Reid said. “Democrats believe that there should be protection for the taxpayers who are footing the bill for this legislation.”
Reid also says that he will continue to pursue an economic recovery
program for jobs in infrastructure and renewable energy before Congress adjourns, either separately or as part of this bill.
Nevada’s other lawmakers have so far been quiet on the rescue plan, but we’ll look forward to hearing from them as the vote nears.
If Republicans were better stewards of the People's money, we wouldn't be in this mess. Vote them all out this November.
So what is really scary is that now George Bush, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Charles Schumer, Chris Dodd, and Barney Franks are negotiating our future this weekend.
Obama has called out (on 9-22) that this effort is under siege from lobbyist.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said 9-22-2008, that Democrats in Congress will not grant President Bush "a blank check" $700 billion financial bailout bill without debate over amendments to "protect taxpayers." But they will give him a check.
President elect Barak Obama (backed by Robert Rubin, Jim Johnson, and 300 advisors on Friday morning) has made a point of NOT having on position on the negotiations.
It is important to understand and that Democrats like Bill Clinton, Barak Obama, Jimmy Carter, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Christopher Dodd, Richard Durbin, Charles Schumer, Patrick Leahy, Charles Rangel, and Barney Franks have had done "nothing" with regard to the energy and financial laws in this country over the last 32 years.
But Democrats are not out of touch. They just need to kept ruminating.
By doing nothing and not being involved in the 2000 dot.com meltdown, the start of the housing meltdown of 2006, or the sending of 700 billion petro dollars overseas, Democrats clearly have no bloody fingerprints on anything.
By not having been involved in these energy security and financial laws, for the last 32 years these folk are "issue virgins", and can, with clean slates, come in and tell us what to do.
All week, Obama has carefully just demonized the economy and blamed the GOP for all our problems. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have back him up on the lack of Democratic involvement in these issues for the last 32 years.
Obama has repeated this week that his wealth taxes, oil taxes, investment taxes, and payroll taxes, new spending (including those annual 1000 dollar welfare checks to those 44% not making $200k and that do not now pay taxes), turning oil companies into non-profits, Democratic are nationalizing financial institutions this week, nationalizing health care, eliminating foreign trade, peace dividend so we can cut the military, etc. is just the thing to re-invigorate the economy.
Since the Democrats have done nothing, and are not responsible for anything, this will be a great new fresh start.
Obama has reversed course......AGAIN!!!!!
First it was raise taxes but lately...perhaps not...it might hurt the economy.
He has proposed billions in new spending...now he says he is going to do lots of spending cuts.
He changes course so much that his head is spinning.
Total cost for all of Bush's Bailouts is 1.8 Trillion. Read the breakdown here http://www.cnbc.com/id/26808715
John McCain was the co-sponser of s190 in 2005.
All the Democrats voted to kill the bill in the committee.
Below is McCain's speech in 2005. To bad, they did not listen to him.....sigh......
"For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market."
"I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole."
Obama said yesterday, that this bailout effort is under siege from Lobbyists.
Among other issues, apparently the swarming Lobbyists are trying to expand the limited scope of bad mortgages to cover homeowners and all troubled loans.
Congressional ethics only requires that they do not take meal and trips from Lobbyists.
We need to have every contact between a lobbyist and a Congressmen or congressional staffer detailed and reported to the public.
Reid and Pelosi should start with this bill.
Solution - have McCain sell all of his foreign made autos and contribute the proceeds to the treasury.
DEMs will win in November by continuing to doing nothing and not being responsible for anything. But the LV Sun says "Care must now be taken to avoid irresponsibility in crafting solutions."
Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Charles Schumer, Chris Dodd, and Barney Franks are negotiating our future this week.
They have told Obama to not discuss anything so as to not get caught up in dispute nuances. Obama in his press conference is saying he will accept any plan that protects the taxpayers.
President elect Barak Obama (backed by Robert Rubin, Jim Johnson, and 300 advisors) has made a point of NOT having on position on the negotiations. Obama said yesterday, that this effort is under siege from lobbyist.
I've heard the $700 billion works out to $10,000 for every man woman and child in the US and I've heard it works out to $2000. Give us the money let us stimulate the economy. It is insane to give those that caused the problem more money. I say, bring on the depression. Most of us don't have much anyway. We'll survive. Will these fat cats survive? Let them run for cover. Let them find out how violent this society really is. They horde millions while we beg for a buck.
George Herbert Walker IV, a second cousin of the President, is a managing director at Lehman Brothers. Jeb Bush is an "advisor" in Lehman's private equity group. William T. Bush, the President's uncle, was on the board at Engineered Support Systems, a defense contractor which made hundreds of millions of dollars from the Iraq, Afghanastan wars. The Carlyle Group with which the Bush family was connected, did defense contracting. Shouldn't the MSM report extensively on this?