[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20803-20804]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 IF THIS TRULY IS A FINANCIAL CRISIS, PRESIDENT BUSH NEEDS TO ADDRESS 
                               THE NATION

  (Mr. YARMUTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)

[[Page 20804]]


  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, where is President Bush? Last Friday he 
held a short press conference demanding Congress pass a bailout plan 
that was still being written, otherwise the economic fallout would be 
dire.
  But the President has not been heard from since. If this really is a 
catastrophic economic collapse, shouldn't the President address the 
American people and the Congress in a prime-time nationally televised 
speech?
  The President needs to explain to the people exactly what is 
happening in the financial markets and how this plan will help turn 
things around. This is extremely complicated. With potentially a $700 
billion price tag, every American has a stake in what happens with this 
legislation.
  If this truly is a crisis on Wall Street, President Bush needs to 
begin treating it that way. He can't sit on the sidelines any longer. 
If President Bush is serious about getting this legislation passed, he 
needs to sell this plan to the American people.
  If the future of our Nation's economy is, indeed, at stake, President 
Bush needs to raise the stakes and explain his plan to the American 
people.

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