By Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski

Americans are understandably frightened by the current economic crisis.  They have watched their retirement savings dwindle and purchasing power diminish.  Our local communities are also hurting.  Wilkes-Barre's Mayor Tom Leighton has told me that the turmoil in the economic markets could harm the city's ability to borrow money.  Additionally, many businesses owners in Northeastern Pennsylvania have expressed their concern to me about the decreasing ability to access the credit needed to afford their payrolls.

As we try to turn the tide of the economic crisis that had now engulfed us, I am working to help and protect middle class Americans and small businesses who played no part in creating these problems.  It does not matter if you are a doctor, a lawyer, or a worker at Tobyhanna Army Depot or Wilkes University.  This will be a difficult period, but we are all in this together.

The disastrous economic policies of President Bush have led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.  For free markets to work well, we need strong, effective modern regulation that forces people to play by the rules.  Even as we work first to stabilize our economy, I am already working to rebuild the regulatory structure for the financial system.  This new regime must work to protect the savings, homes, rights, and financial security of middle class Americans, not Wall Street bankers.

The enactment of the rescue package was an imperfect, but essential, step to prevent the collapse of the American economic system.  After Secretary Paulson presented Congress with a three-page bill that would have given him unprecedented powers, I joined my colleagues in crafting a more measured bill that imposed greater oversight, transparency, and accountability for the individuals charged with implementing this law.  We also limited the compensation of executives at assisted companies. 

Congress must remain vigilant as this program proceeds.  I was outraged that AIG executives took expensive junkets, after the American people provided a $123 billion emergency loan to their company.  I demanded that the Federal Reserve strictly oversee and halt wasteful spending by AIG executives.  It is essential that federal and state authorities use all the tools at their disposal to keep watch over our tax dollars.

The next step is designing an economic recovery plan that helps ordinary Americans.  In mid-October I joined a small group of my colleagues convened by Speaker Pelosi to draft this plan, which we hope to enact next month.  During this meeting, we discussed creating jobs through rebuilding our roads, bridges, and schools, and softening economic hardships.  Like the stimulus checks sent earlier this year, additional unemployment compensation will provide a direct infusion of funds into the economy. 

We are facing some tough economic times, but with hard work, patience, and a common purpose, Americans will emerge from this crisis stronger than ever.