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| For Immediate Release October 3, 2008 |
Contact: Kerry McKenney/Nkechi Mbanu (202) 225-3436 |
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| Payne Opposes Taxpayer Bailout of Wall Street | |||
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Washington, D.C. – Tenth District Congressman Donald Payne voted against the $700 billion bailout bill which was considered in the House of Representatives today. He issued the following statement: "While some positive provisions were added to this new package, after careful consideration, I still felt that the negative impact of the $700 billion bailout outweighed the positive impact. I could not in good conscience ask my constituents to cover the cost of a financial crisis brought on by Wall Street and the lax regulatory policies of the Bush Administration. I had hoped for language in the bill to directly assist homeowners who are facing disclosure – specifically, language which would give bankruptcy judges more leeway in working out mortgage payment plans; unfortunately, very few homeowners will be helped by the bailout bill, because the terms of a mortgage cannot be changed without the consent of all investors who own the mortgage. In addition, I thought the legislation should have included an economic stimulus package which would help with job creation by investing in our nation's infrastructure. I also felt that it was important that strong language be included to prevent a recurrence of a financial crisis in the future. I was disappointed by the fact that the Oversight Board does not have the power to change any action – in fact, the 5 member board will include 3 Bush Appointees – the very type of officials whose "hands off" deregulatory policies got us into this mess in the first place. It struck me as unfair that in most cases, executives of failed companies can continue to receive million-dollar severance packages known as "Golden Parachutes" while ordinary Americans pick up the tab. Wall Street should be required to help pay for the crisis they created. I thought that we should have considered alternatives, including the idea of reinstating a one-quarter of one percent surcharge on all stock trades, which would raise nearly $150 billion a year to offset the cost of this bailout package to the taxpayer." # # # |
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Washington, DC Office 2209 Rayburn House Office Building · Washington, District of Columbia 20515 Phone: (202)-225-3436 Fax: (202)-225-4160 |
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| District Offices | ||
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50 Walnut Street,
Suite 1016 Newark, New Jersey 07102 Phone: (973)-645-3213 · Fax: (973)-645-5902 |
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