Bailout bill for Wall Street was more of the same
The unprecedented Wall Street bailout bill brought before the U.S. House of Representatives by the Republican administration sought to reward high-powered financial speculators, not your family. It would not bring back the jobs we lost in New London, Waupaca, Marinette, Niagara, and Kimberly or help countless other workers in Wisconsin whose employers are struggling under the weight of unfair foreign competition, soaring health care costs, and an economy grossly mismanaged by President Bush and his friends.
That’s why I said no to bailing out Wall Street investment firms and yes to protecting the long term interests of Wisconsin taxpayers — because I work for you, not them.
The bill we voted on today was far better than the blank check originally sent over by the White House. House leaders worked long and hard to improve it and to inject as many taxpayer safeguards as they could. But the Bush Administration resisted them at every turn, insisting on gold-plated retirement packages for their Wall Street speculator friends who drove our nation’s financial institutions into the ditch and then expected, as always, to send taxpayers the bill for the wrecker service.
I was elected to represent the best interests of working families in Wisconsin, not Wall Street tycoons who couldn’t keep their financial houses in order. We have seen too many people lose their jobs and struggle just to keep their heads above water.
Today’s bill would not help them. It contained no guarantee that it would restore confidence in the markets for very long, and it left a deep financial mess behind for the next administration to clean up. Its potential effectiveness is far from clear. So is the answer to the critical question: who will ultimately profit from it?
Comprehensive health care reform would do far more to help millions of middle-class families and small business owners who are struggling to survive - but there was nothing in this bailout bill about that.
Lowering the price of gas at the pump and investing in our energy independence would ease the pressure on our economy and create millions of new jobs - but there was nothing in this bailout bill about that.
Investing in our crumbling infrastructure would provide many thousands of higher wage jobs, help commerce flow more efficiently and improve public safety - but there was nothing in this bailout bill about that.
It is time to get back to the basics. Let’s catch those who have broken our nation’s financial laws and punish them, clean up the economic mess they handed us, and then turn our attention to standing up for policies that favor families like yours, who work hard and play by the rules.
