[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 150 (Monday, September 22, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9171-S9172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TREASURY DEPARTMENT LEGISLATION

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this weekend the Bush administration sent to 
Congress its plan to address our country's growing economic crisis. All 
my Democratic colleagues in the Senate understand the need to take 
action to steady our economy, and we are prepared to act swiftly and 
responsibly to pass legislation that puts interest in the security of 
the American people first. We know, for example, that last year 2\1/2\ 
million Americans secured mortgages, and nearly half of all college 
students secured loans so they could go to school. The consequences of 
a broken banking system, devoid of loans for homes, college tuition, 
automobiles, and business investment would be devastating. We are 
prepared to do what is necessary to avoid these unacceptable 
consequences, but we will not let haste abandon good judgment in the 
process.

  The Bush administration has called on Congress to rubberstamp its 
bill without serious debate or efforts to improve it. We can't let that 
happen. The legislation sent to the Congress by the Treasury Department 
recognizes the scope of the crisis the Bush administration created, a 
view that we share with Secretary Paulson. The Bush administration's 
bill is a starting point but by no means the final product.
  Democrats believe there should be protection for the taxpayers who 
are footing the bill for this legislation. That begins with more 
oversight, more transparency, more accountability, and more controls to 
prevent conflicts of interest. Democrats believe there should be limits 
on compensation for company executives who benefit from this 
legislation so the American people don't see their tax dollars spent on 
exorbitant corporate pay and even golden parachutes. The American 
people earn their pay through honest hard work and so should CEOs.
  What is a golden parachute? It is a method of compensating executives 
when they leave their companies. It would be wrong for these 
employees--these managers who are leaving their companies--to get huge 
amounts of money for simply leaving. This legislation should prevent 
that.
  We believe that in exchange for shouldering the enormous burden of 
the Bush plan, taxpayers should reap any future economic rewards. That 
is what happened when we bailed out the savings and loans. It should 
happen here. That means this plan should not permit taxpayer money to 
purchase an asset at an inflated price exclusively for the benefit of 
private shareholders.
  Democrats believe this legislation affects not just the American 
economy but the global economy, and we will call upon other nations to 
do their part. But one of the provisions suggested in this bill is that 
we would spend money to bail out foreign banks. I think we have to be 
very careful with that.
  We believe this legislation should provide aid for Americans at risk 
of losing their homes to foreclosure. As the law currently stands, the 
wealthiest Americans can seek mortgage assistance from a bankruptcy 
judge to help keep their second, their third, their fourth, their 
fifth, their sixth, even their seventh home, but working families can't 
seek mortgage relief from a bankruptcy judge for their first and only 
home--their primary residence. That makes no sense, and we should 
change it. Bankruptcy court should have the authority to reach mutually 
beneficial arrangements to allow families to keep their homes and 
prevent more foreclosures.
  We believe it is not enough to fund a Wall Street bailout. We need an 
economic recovery plan to create jobs, provide better unemployment 
insurance, and invest in our country's infrastructure. Now, such a plan 
has to be voted upon before we adjourn, either as part of this 
legislation or separately. These steps will help catalyze long-term 
economic growth once the dust on Wall Street settles.
  Democrats in Congress fully understand the severity of the situation 
and the need to pass legislation, but we are not willing to give 
President Bush a blank check. We are now seeing 8 years of reckless 
Bush economic policies come crashing down with unimaginable speed and 
severity. This crisis puts our economy and the well-being of the 
American people in serious jeopardy.
  President Bush said on Friday we should assign blame later. What else 
is he going to say? Of course, he would say exactly that because he is 
the culprit of the crisis. What else would the culprit say?
  The American people have a right to know what brought us to this 
grave economic danger. The answer is the President and a Republican 
Congress determined to repeal all reasonable oversight and 
accountability and ignore what they couldn't repeal and allow corporate 
greed and recklessness to saturate our economy. Democratic and 
Republican Presidents who served before President Bush all understood 
that demanding accountability from the financial sector is not somehow 
anticapitalist but the opposite: It maintains balance, protects 
taxpayers, and keeps our economy running smoothly.
  The greed-fueled Bush-Cheney economy thought they knew better. They 
put cronies and idealogues in charge of our most critical regulatory 
agencies, people who disdain Government oversight of any kind and 
systematically put Wall Street ahead of Main Street. One example of 
this irresponsibility: The Bush administration refused to provide 
oversight of the mortgage industry to ensure the rules were followed. 
The result was massive fraud, predatory lending, and a practice of 
preying on American families with deceptive, dishonest loans.
  Now, we all know the banking industry has been deregulated, and the 
few regulations left were not in force. But now we find an article 
written by Senator McCain in one of the health journals saying he 
thinks the health care industry should be deregulated just like the 
bank industry. How about that. It is in writing. President ``Wannabe'' 
McCain has written an article saying we should treat the health 
industry just like the banking industry. Now, that is enough said about 
how Senator McCain is going the take care of the problems of this 
country economically.
  This hands-off, business-first, Bush-Cheney economic philosophy 
infiltrated nearly all aspects of the economy--from mortgages to 
consumer safety to the airline industry--and the people of America are 
now left to suffer the consequences. This morning, Monday, the first 
day of autumn, President Bush released a statement preemptively 
criticizing Democrats for working to improve his plan. If the President 
is serious about reaching an effective, bipartisan solution to the 
economic crisis he and his people created, he should join us in solving 
the crisis he created.
  We Democrats in the Senate are not going to drag our feet. We will 
respond with the urgency of action this situation demands. But after 8 
years of a fiscal dereliction of duty, it is time for accountability. 
It has taken 8 years of this dereliction of duty. Should we resolve the 
issue in 1 day? I think not.
  Democrats understand the two primary responsibilities of Government 
are to protect the physical and fiscal well-being of the people. 
Whatever the ultimate cost of this legislation, we always remember 
these funds don't come from some nameless Government account. Every 
dollar comes directly out of the pocket of every American taxpayer; 
every dollar that should have been saved for someone's secure 
retirement, every dollar that could have been invested in health care 
for the uninsured or education for students or to fund a small business 
startup. We Democrats understand the value of each and every dollar 
spent on this plan because we know each and every dollar comes from the 
American people. We will work unending hours in a bipartisan manner to 
ensure this legislation doesn't just get done but that we get it done 
right. s

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