Email Friend Print

Lowey Statement on Financial Rescue Passed by Congress

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland) today issued the following statement on the financial rescue plan passed by Congress.

It is increasingly evident that the economic crisis resulting from the Bush Administration’s failed policies requires unprecedented and immediate action to prevent a catastrophe that could endanger nearly every American family’s finances. The credit crunch is making it difficult for many small businesses to operate and expand while other companies face difficulty making payroll, which could result in further job loss. Families continue struggling to keep their homes, have experienced dramatic losses in their savings and retirement accounts, and could soon face the inability to get credit for everyday purchases, cars, and student loans.

When the Administration asked for a $700 billion blank check from the American people to bail out Wall Street companies that took excessive risks, Democrats in Congress improved the proposal to focus on the families living and working on Main Street who have already been squeezed by our suffering economy.

I voted for the first bipartisan, bicameral plan passed by the House of Representatives on September 29th, and I supported the bill we passed today though I disagreed with many of the provisions added in the Senate. This bill includes critical measures to stabilize the markets and safeguard Americans’ financial security while protecting taxpayers and reining in Wall Street:

  • installments – not a one-time payment – that require Congressional approval;
  • full repayment for taxpayers and guaranteed government equity so that taxpayers can benefit from this investment;
  • accountability, transparency about the purchases of assets by the Treasury, and bipartisan oversight;
  • limits on executive compensation so that those who created this crisis are not rewarded for it;
  • higher limits for insured accounts to protect businesses’ and families’ savings; and
  • the ability for the Treasury Department to work directly with mortgage holders to save their homes.

While this recovery plan is focused on preventing an economic collapse that could put Americans in serious financial jeopardy, it is only a first step. The same spirit of bipartisan urgency is required to ensure oversight of the financial markets to prevent another crisis, to reduce skyrocketing energy, health care, and tuition costs, and to restore meaningful economic opportunity for hard-working families. The test of our overall economic strategy will be its impact on the standard of living and quality of life of the great majority of Americans, and I will continue fighting to take our economy in a new direction.

###