[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 23890]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        SAME DEEPLY FLAWED PLAN

  (Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DeFAZIO. This is, at its core, the same deeply flawed Bush-
Paulson plan. Borrow $700 billion in the name of the American taxpayer, 
give Paulson unrestrained, unprecedented authority to buy anything he 
deems a troubled asset from anyone at any price.
  What if there's a credible, low cost, low-risk alternative? I heard 
such a plan again last night from the head banking regulator under the 
Reagan administration, William Isaac: Use the emergency powers of the 
FDIC. Extend the same insurance given to Wachovia to the depositors and 
creditors of all banks. That would immediately free up interbank 
lending and credit. Granted, it doesn't solve the problem of the Wall 
Street speculators, but it does solve the problem of loans for business 
and Main Street.
  Six years ago this month, Congress was stampeded by this President 
into an unnecessary and unprecedented authorization of force for war in 
Iraq under the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Do not repeat 
that mistake by authorizing George Bush an unprecedented use of 
financial force under the threat of financial weapons of mass 
destruction.

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