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Monday, September 29, 2008 11:25 AM Bailout vote today From staff and wire reports WASHINGTON -- Key supporters of a Wall Street bailout package prodded lawmakers to approve the plan hours ahead of a difficult House vote today, with President Bush saying it is needed to "keep the crisis in our financial system from spreading throughout our economy." "Every member of Congress and every American should keep in mind that a vote for this bill is a vote to prevent economic damage to you and your community," said Bush, fully aware that congressional passage of the $700 billion compromise legislation is far from assured. "With this strong and decisive legislation," he said, "we will help restart the flow of credit so American families can meet their daily needs and American businesses can make purchases, ship goods and meet their payrolls." The package cleared a key procedural hurdle on the House floor Monday morning with a 220-198 vote to move it to three hours of general debate and a final vote, likely by midday or early afternoon. U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield of Wilson said this morning he planned to vote no but predicted the bailout bill would pass despite a "great division" in the Republican caucus and some division in the Democratic caucus. "I'm not totally convinced, but I'm inclined to vote no," he said. "There are arguments in both directions." Butterfield called the bailout bill "the most difficult vote I've had to cast since being in the legislature" because of the amount -- $700 billion, which equals the amount of money the U.S. has spend in Iraq over a five-year period. "We need to be good stewards to the taxpayers money. I want to slow down and consider other options that are less expensive and would result in better results," Butterfield said. "I think we are moving too quickly and in panic mode that the market will melt down and have a ripple effect around the world." Some experts say it is not as severe a problem; however, ignoring the problem is not in the interest of the American people either, Butterfield said. Butterfield advocates doing more for the homeowner. For example, the bill proposed now doesn't help people who've already been foreclosed upon. "There's some good things in the bill for sure, but it's still $700 billion, and we don't have $700 billion, and we don't have $50 billion. We are going to have to borrow this money." "So the question becomes, is there another way this can be done and a less expensive way? So that's our challenge." In the Senate, North Carolina's Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr was also expressing caution. "We just got the text of the bill last night, so we're taking a look at it," Chris Walker, press secretary for Burr, said this morning. "The senator wants to make sure his concerns are addressed." Burr's staff is checking the bill to make sure there's proper oversight and making sure the taxpayer money is spent wisely and protected, Walker said. "We're poring over it right now," Walker said. Efforts to reach U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole and U.S. Rep. Walter Jones of Farmville were unsuccessful this morning. Two leading players in the negotiations also spoke early Monday, taking to television news shows to lobby for approval of a package deeply unpopular with a public angry that taxpayer money will save Wall Street firms from heavy risk-taking. Thousands of angry phone calls, e-mails and letters have poured into Capitol Hill from constituents. But Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said that failure to act would spread the contagion of frozen credit markets even further. "This is not just about Wall Street," said the Banking Committee chairman. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., who represented fellow Republicans in the hard-fought 10 days of talks that culminated in a deal early Sunday morning, called it a "tourniquet" for the ailing financial industry and slow-moving economy. Still, both men said the necessity of such massive government action is a sad day for the nation. Asked if the legislation, slated for a vote in the House later Monday and a Senate vote as early as Wednesday, would pass, Dodd said only: "We hope so." These players were speaking not just to rank-and-file lawmakers to whom the spotlight now turns in this contentious, dramatic debate, but to U.S. and global markets which have displayed nervousness about Washington's determination to act. Investors worldwide and in early trading in the United States continued to show doubt about whether the bill would go through, much less go a long way toward curing the systemic problems that have unnerved financial markets across the globe for weeks. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in a statement Monday, said he welcomed agreement on a compromise bill. "This legislation should help to restore the flow of credit to households and businesses that is essential for economic growth and job creation, while at the same time affording strong and necessary protections for taxpayers," Bernanke said, calling for swift passage. Bush said he "fully understands" the bailout bill is a difficult vote for lawmakers, and after his statement on the South Lawn he, and Vice President Dick Cheney, took to the phones to corral individual members of Congress. But he argued that jittery U.S. taxpayers will benefit from a number of safeguards that lawmakers wrote into the pending legislation, including checks and balances on the operation of the program, curbs on "golden parachutes" for top executives of firms getting help, and assurances that taxpayers would ultimately be reimbursed by the companies for any losses. But the government would have broad discretion to decide how to implement both. The legislation also requires that the government take ownership stakes in companies that receive federal infusions, so it could share a piece of potential future profits. Bush also said the ultimate cost of the bailout will be much less than the $700 billion authorized in the bill. The sour assets -- mostly mortgage-backed securities -- that the program allows the government to take off the books of struggling financial institutions will eventually be sold, perhaps even at a profit. Still, the president hinted that this may not be the last intervention required. Banks, credit unions, securities brokers and dealers, and insurance companies, among others, could get the help as long as they had "significant operations" in the United States. Originally designed to help companies get rotten mortgage-related investments off their balance sheets, the legislation would allow the government to buy up any kind of asset top economic officials think is necessary to promote market stability. The final 110-page bill was released Sunday evening after a final weekend of intense negotiating, and Republicans and Democrats huddled for hours in private meetings Sunday night to learn its details and voice their concerns. Many said they left uncertain of how they would vote. Lawmakers in both parties who are facing re-election are particularly nervous about embracing such a costly plan proposed by a deeply unpopular president that would benefit perhaps the most publicly detested of all: companies that got rich off bad bets. "Nobody wants to have to support this bill," said Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, the House minority leader. But he said he was urging "every member whose conscience will allow them to support this" to do so. Officials in both parties expected the vote to be a nail-biter. The two major party presidential candidates -- Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama -- expressed tepid support for the bailout. |
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