Politicians explain bail-out snub

Republican and Democratic politicians describe why the bail-out bill was rejected.

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Paulson said the tool kit for putting together a rescue plan was insufficient [AFP] Paulson said the tool kit for putting together a rescue plan was insufficient [AFP]

“So I will work with Congress leaders to pass a bill to stablise the financial system and protect the American people.

“We have much work to do and this is much too important to simply let fail.”


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Pelosi said that the Democratic side of the House lived up to its side of the bargain [AFP]

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, declared that the House rejection of the Wall Street bail-out plan on Monday had to be addressed and that congress would press ahead on a rescue plan.

“What happened today cannot stand, we must move forward,” Pelosi said.

“Our work will not be finished until that is done,” she said.

“Today, the Democratic side has more than lived up to its side of bargain, but the legislation has failed and the crisis is still with us.

“We must work in a bipartisan way to have another bite at the apple.”


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Boehner said that Republican voters lost confidence in the bill [AFP]

John Boehner, a House Republican, said: “We put everything we had into getting the votes to get there today, but the speaker [Pelosi] had to give a partisan voice that poisoned our conference and caused a number of members we thought we could get, to go south.

“At the end day, this is not about Democrats or Republicans.

“It is about the economy and what’s best for the American people.

“The fact is that while we were able to move the bill drastically to the right, it wasn’t good enough for our members, so we need true middle ground for the voters.”


Roy Blunt, the Republican House Minority Whip, said the House leadership would “reach out to its members” to arrive as some kind of compromise.

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Cantor holds the speech made by Pelosi in which he accuses her of being partisan [AFP]

Eric Cantor, a House Republican, said: “I think that this is a failure on the case of speaker Pelosi to listen not only to her members, but certainly to our members and the common bonds that brought our members together on this very important issue for the American people.

“This is not a partisan crisis. It is an American crisis affecting everyone in the country.

“We’re going to go back to the drawing table and look to see where we can come together and get a solution for the American people.

“It is a bit risky, but the Democrats were taking the lead on making this bill more transparent to their supporters” for instance, by stating on the internet what the government was paying for and ensuring independent oversight inside the US treasury.


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Frank said that more co-ordination was needed from the Republican side [AFP]

Barney Frank, Democratic chairman of the House Committee, said: “I was persuaded by people that we do have a serious crisis in this country – that we are threatened with the shutdown of the credit system.

“Clearly a large number of members of the House don’t believe that.

“We have been working very hard to negotiate a bill to pass the House … What we added to the bill was no part of the reason for the defeat.

“I would hope that the [Bush] administration would be able to work with members of their own party in their House, because it cannot and should not pass as a one-party bill.

“We are ready to keep working. But we do ask that there be some better co-ordination on the Republican side so that we have a chance to put something together that will pass Congress.”


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Bush said he would continue to address the economic problem “head-on” [AFP]

 

 

George Bush, the US president, said: “I was disappointed in the vote that the United States Congress [had] on the economic rescue plan.

“We put forth a plan that was big because we’ve got a big problem.”

“Our strategy is to continue to address this economic situation head-on and we’ll be working to develop a strategy that will enable us to continue to move forward,” he said. 

 


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Jackson, a Democrat, voted against the bill because it did not protect homeowners [AP]

Jesse Jackson Jr, a Democratic Congressman who voted against the bill, told Al Jazeera: “It’s our hope that this bill will be re-introduced. Obviously, this is a very sobering moment for legislators across the country.

“Hopefully Democrats will sit down with Republicans, and hash out a bill that first takes into account those who have been affected most by the crisis – people who are losing their homes.

“There were just not enough sufficient protections in this bill that ensured homeowners would not be put out of their homes.

“What you must remember is that we are in the fourth financial quarter. Most American businesses actually earn their profit in the fourth quarter.

“I asked Chairman Barney Frank, what in this bill was going to reinstate consumer confidence? He said this was not a consumer confidence bill, but instead, an investor confidence bill.

“Most members of Congress understand that they are probably going to come back here some time in January and February, with probably another unprecendeted bill.


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McCain’s advisor said Obama used partisan politics to gain favour in the election [AFP]

John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, blamed Barack Obama, his Democratic rival, for congress’s failure to pass the Wall Street rescue plan.

“I laid out principles that I thought should be adhered to [in the bill]. Those included responsible oversight, effective transparency, added protections forthe tax payers and a cap on excessive salaries for executives.

“The plan is now significantly improved. … It isn’t perfect, and the fact that taxpayers have to pay a single dollar to stabilise our economy is a decision that I do not take lightly.

“Senator Obama and his partners in congress, infused unnecessary partisanship into the process. Now is not the time to fix the blame, it’s time to fix the problem.

“I would hope that all our leaders can put aside short term politcal goals and do what is in the best interest of the American people.”


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Obama said he put conditions on the bill in support the American people [AFP]

Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, told supporters during a campaign rally in Westminster, Colarado: “It’s important for people to understand that the plan had been improved from the time it was introduced by the Bush administration.

“Bush originally wanted a blank cheque of $700bn to solve the problem.

“I said, absoltuely not.

It is unacceptable to expect the American people to hand this administration, or any administration, a blank cheque of that size with no conditions or oversight, when a lack of oversight in Wall Street and Washington is exactly what got us into this mess.

“If the American people are asked to help solve crisis, then you have the right to make sure your tax dollars are protected.

“So the day that Secretary Paulson put forward plan, I laid out a few conditions for Washington.

“An independent board to provide oversight and to account for who and when this is spent every step of the way.

“I said if American tax papers are financing the solution, they should be treated like investors. You should get every penny back once the economy has recovered and Wall Street should help to foot the bill.

“I said we cannot and will not simply bail out Wall Street, without helping the millions of struggling people.

“We cannot forget who this is for. This is for the American people. It should not be for a few insiders. And I promise you I will review it.”

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies