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Washington, D.C.—U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today joined a bipartisan majority in voting for H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. H.R. 1424, which passed the House by a vote of 263 to 171, will allow the Treasury Secretary to purchase troubled assets from financial institutions so banks can resume lending. The financial crisis on Wall Street has frozen the credit markets making it very difficult for Americans to get access to student loans, home loans, and car loans and for businesses to make payroll. The U.S. Senate passed this legislation on Wednesday evening and the President signed the bill into law shortly after today’s vote in the House of Representatives.
Congresswoman Schakowsky released the following statement before the House voted on H.R. 1424.
Madam Speaker,
I rise in reluctant support of H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. On Monday, the House failed to pass a rescue package, and the stock market dropped 777 points – the biggest one day point drop in U.S. history! The impact of that drop wasn’t just felt on Wall Street; it was also felt on Main Street. On Monday alone, Americans lost $1.2 trillion in the stock market. Almost 50 percent of Americans are invested in the stock market in some way, whether through retirement accounts or private investments, and they rely on credit and their investments to make ends meet.
This legislation is about protecting people’s retirement accounts and pension plans. In the last year, investments have declined by nearly 24 percent, putting the retirement security of millions at risk; I am worried that without this package, they will continue to the downward spiral. This legislation is about making sure that there is enough credit in order for students and families to take out loans to afford to go to college. It is about letting businesses make their payroll. It is about helping people stay in their homes. That is why dozens of groups representing educators, colleges, the homeless, pension managers, and others support this legislation.
I want to make it very clear that I think this legislation is far from perfect – and, like many of my colleagues, I would have written a very different bill. However, I believe that Monday demonstrated that we had to act. Years of harmful Republican policies that pushed for deregulation and tolerated an almost total lack of enforcement, and a misguided philosophy that insisted that an unregulated market can heal all ills, have now led us to the brink of economic collapse. And I am deeply concerned – and hundreds of economists agree – that the failure to act could lead to a major economic depression.
Again, the rescue plan, while still imperfect, has come a long way from where we began. Instead of giving the President $700 billion with virtually no oversight or safeguards, we require Congressional review after the first $350 billion. And this legislation requires equity sharing, so taxpayers would benefit from future growth in the investments they have bought, and it contains provisions to ensure that Wall Street pays back the taxpayers for any losses. We are stopping forms of executive compensation that would encourage executives to take excessive risks, eliminating golden parachutes for executives who take part in the government program, and cracking down on excessive compensation practices for the fist time in history. And we include strong, independent oversight to protect the taxpayer, including two oversight boards to ensure that the Treasury Secretary is acting on good faith, as well as judicial review over the Secretary’s actions.
While I would have liked to see the tax provisions paid for by rolling back some of the President’s tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and closing corporate loopholes, there are also important tax fixes that will benefit millions of Americans and small businesses across the country. The legislation provides property tax relief to up to 30 million homeowners – extending a new $1,000 property tax deduction for non-itemizing couples through the end of 2009. It extends the qualified tuition deduction for low- and middle-income Americans. It extends the child tax credit, which will benefit millions of Americans with children age 17 and younger. It extends the Research and Development tax credit, which spurs innovation and job growth in the technology sector. And it extends critical renewable energy and energy efficiency tax credits to help the green economy take shape.
This legislation also contains critical, comprehensive mental health parity legislation that will bring mental health insurance benefits in line with other medical benefits. I have not held a health care meeting in my district without the issue of access to mental health care being brought up my constituents who have faced discrimination or difficulty obtaining affordable care. I am proud that we are continuing Senator Paul Wellstone’s legacy by passing a bill that guarantees equal access to mental health and substance abuse treatment. I also want to thank Representatives Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad for their persistence and passion in passing the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.
There is so much more we should do. I am strongly committed to enacting a second stimulus package that will truly benefit the American people. Today the House enacted 7 weeks of extended benefits for workers who have exhausted regular unemployment compensation, with workers in high unemployment states eligible for an additional 13 weeks of benefits. However, I believe we also need to make investments in our highways, bridges, transit systems, and schools; we need increases in food stamps benefits; and we need a crucial temporary increase in Medicaid payments to states. Studies have shown that those are some of the quickest forms of economic stimulus because those benefits and investments are spent quickly
This bill represents unfinished business. I will fight my hardest to make sure that we rein in the excesses of corporate America in the next Congress, and to see to it that this crisis does not happen again.
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