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




                             NO BLANK CHECK

  (Ms. SHEA-PORTER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Mr. Speaker, as Wall Street was struggling last 
week, the Bush administration reached out to Congress and asked for 
help. But over the weekend, the Treasury Department sent just a 3-page 
bill to Capitol Hill that was nothing more than a blank check for 
Secretary Paulson, $700 billion that the Secretary could use at his 
discretion.
  That is simply not acceptable. We are not going to hand over a $700 
billion check so the administration can do what they wish.
  Over the next couple of days, we will work in a bipartisan fashion to 
develop legislation that includes independent oversight so that we can 
see exactly what the Treasury Department is doing with this money. We 
also want to ensure that CEOs are not rewarded with golden parachutes 
for the mess that they created.
  A blank check is not acceptable. Congress will work to protect the 
American taxpayer.

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