[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 22901]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE

  (Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor, 
realizing that we are in a severe financial situation in this country 
on Wall Street that will have a negative effect on Main Street as well. 
It must be addressed, and it must be addressed quickly.
  You know, I came to this floor last night, and I spoke to the 
American public. I said last night that you should be concerned this 
morning, that you should be very much alarmed by what is going on here. 
Obviously, Washington is not hearing from you and is not abiding by 
your wishes. Yes, there is a problem, and yes, also there are 
solutions, and yes, there is a way to deal with this problem but not by 
putting the American taxpayer on the hook.
  In order to get those solutions, we should not go to those very same 
people who brought us this problem in the first place--those people who 
tried to block reform in the past.
  I hear in the news today that there was a deal, that Speaker Pelosi 
has basically adopted the Paulson plan. Well, I don't know what all of 
the ramifications of the deal are and who is involved, but I can say 
this:
  Those who support and those who used to work for Goldman Sachs will 
support this deal. Those who have gotten contributions from Countrywide 
will support this deal. Those who have gotten substantial contributions 
will support this deal. Most importantly, those who have blocked reform 
in the past will support this deal.
  I will not support this deal as it has been laid out so far. If you 
want to know how to find out more about how we got here, just simply go 
to YouTube, and put in ``burning down the house,'' and you will get a 
better understanding of exactly how we got here and why we should not 
be going back to the very same parties who brought us here with this 
solution.

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