[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 22900]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  A $700 BILLION BAILOUT: NOT THE BEST DEAL FOR THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER

  (Mr. ISSA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, the deal that is being presented to us is not 
the best deal that can be had. I know this because of 20-plus years in 
business, borrowing from banks. There is a better deal. We are not 
getting it. As the gentlelady from Ohio said, there are other advisers, 
including Bill Isaac and others, who are weighing in and who are trying 
to get us to see reason.
  A plan that I have put forward has been endorsed, not only by Peter 
Tanous but by Art Laffer, certainly no liberal. The fact is we can bail 
out these entities without giving away. We can, in fact, loan to them 
against their substantial assets and not simply buy the bad assets and 
leave them free to take their good assets and our taxpayers' hard-
earned money and walk off into the sunset to do what they want to do, 
which in this case is unlikely to be to extend a home loan to someone 
who needs it or a business loan to an innovator.
  Mr. Speaker, I expect to vote against this bill. From what I've seen 
of it, not yet fully drafted, it does not do what the American people 
are asking it to do, which is to protect their tax dollars. That is the 
fundamental thing we're supposed to do. That's what we are charged to 
do. That is what we are being told not to worry about because this is 
an emergency.
  If a drowning man asks you for a lifeline, you give him a lifeline, 
but you don't give him your boat and let it sail away. That's what 
we're being asked to do today.

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