WASHINGTON, DC (October 3, 2008) – Today, Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Stafford, voted against the second attempt at a Wall Street bailout bill, which now puts the taxpayer on the hook for an additional $150 billion over the initial measure.  Holding true to his principals of fiscal responsibility, Rep. Lampson stood in opposition to the bill that misdirects obscene sums of tax dollars to reward tycoons who were fiscally irresponsible.

"The core of the bailout legislation remains unchanged and unacceptable.  In fact, the grotesque waste of tax dollars to fund pet projects in an effort to garner support for a bad bill makes it worse," said Rep. Lampson, a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition. "It forces the average taxpayer to pay for a crisis that they did not create.”

Last week Lampson and his colleagues in the House rejected, by a vote of 228 to 205, a $700 billion financial bailout plan aimed at solving the credit crisis by using taxpayer funds to buy up bad debt accrued by irresponsible lenders.  This bill adds to that an additional $150 billion is special projects.  Some of the outlandish pork barrel projects include benefits for the makers of wooden arrows for children, earmarks for racetracks, and benefits for Hollywood Film and TV production companies.

“At a moment when Americans are struggling to pay for a child's education, stay in their homes or pay for rising energy costs it is outrageous to make them foot the bill for the excesses of others,” said Rep. Lampson. “We need to find a solution for the financial crisis but we can do better than this; America can do better than this.”

Although the measure he opposed extends expiring tax breaks with the intention of drumming up support among businesses that rely heavily on them, Rep. Lampson voted just last week to extend these provisions and the Alternative Minimum Tax.  He also introduced legislation in October that provided a fix for the AMT and permanent tax cuts for teachers, veterans, and middle-class Americans; variations of Rep. Lampson’s tax cuts were passed into law.

"So many people in our community are still battling the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Ike," said Rep. Lampson. "It is unconscionable to put the bailout of Wall Street traders and speculators on their shoulders as well."