Madam Speaker, yesterday morning, a woman in my district shouted at me, “Tell all those guys on Wall Street to” – how should I put this – “Take a long walk off a short pier.”

I can appreciate how she feels. I kind of feel the same way.

I want someone to pay a price – or to at least assume responsibility – for this economic mess before we do anything else. But while that might be good therapy, it’s not good economic policy.

Anger won’t keep anybody in their house. Anger won’t help anybody get a car loan or a student loan. Anger won’t help small businesses get the credit they need to maintain inventory or pay their employees.

M. Speaker, the bill before us is far from perfect. I wanted strong bankruptcy protection language. I wanted the economic stimulus package targeted at the working families of this nation. I wanted tougher language on banning Golden Parachutes for CEO’s. And I wanted firmer pay-back provisions so taxpayers don’t get stuck paying for all of this.

While some of the new tax provisions that the Senate added are good, they’re not paid for – which troubles me very much, given the fact that we have the biggest debt in the history of the country.

But the way I see it, we don’t have much of a choice. This bill will hopefully help stabilize our economy. I can’t guarantee that it will work; but I do know that killing this package would be a serious mistake.

The credit markets would further tighten and the people that I represent – even those who want me to vote ‘no,’ would be hurt very badly.

It’s hard to get anything done around here with a divided government. I am hopeful that next year we can do some of the things we are failing to do today.

We need to enact a stimulus package that will invest in our infrastructure, schools and housing. We need health care for all Americans. We need to revolutionize our energy system. We need to tackle hunger and poverty and homelessness.

But I have come to the conclusion that none of that – none of those priorities – will be possible if the financial system of this country collapses. I will vote ‘yes,’ and I urge my colleagues to do the same.