Bush Pushes To Pass Bailout Package.... Dems Say Not So Fast

Bush urged Congress to move fast on the $700 billion bailout package for Wall Street. Democratic lawmakers urged caution, citing warrantless wiretapping as an example of what happens when a bill is passed in haste. Below is an excerpt on Bush's statement regarding the rescue plan. Underneath the excerpt is a quote from Senator Leahy, comparing Bush's urgency today with his push to pass the Patriot Act, legislation that has been criticized for giving the government enhanced powers to spy on the public.

From The Washington Post:

President Bush this morning warned lawmakers against trying to make too many changes to the proposed financial bailout legislation, saying the plan needs to be passed quickly and relatively intact to stem damage to global financial markets.

Weekend negotiations "made good headway" in crafting a bill to bolster a system weighed down by problem home mortgages, Bush said. But with proposals circulating to include provisions for homeowners in the bill or to use it to limit executive compensation, Bush cautioned that too many added provisions could impede approval of critically needed legislation.

Patrick Leahy on the bailout package:

"We will do something this week -- but if we learned anything from right after 9/11, it's that the biggest mistake is to pass anything they ask for just because it's an emergency," Leahy says.

The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman knows of what he speaks. He sponsored the original Patriot Act, only to feel betrayed later when the Bush administration used it to justify domestic wiretapping.

Katharine Zaleski is the Senior News Editor at HuffingtonPost.com. She can be reached at [e-mail]

Comments

[ed3541]

"The pumps don't work cause the vandals stole the handles." Bob Dylan

[ToastOnDayOne]

It makes no sense spending possibly trillions of dollars trying to shore up this Rube Goldberg matrix of interdependent and immeasurable financial black holes. Rather, we should let capitalism do the clean up for us. Sure, the investors involved will suffer significant losses and the investment banks will fail. So what. Assets are still assets, and cash is still cash. The end result of standing aside and letting the ill-advised experiment of separating investment and risk fail, is that it will force commercial and private borrowers and lenders to base their transactions on reality going forward. Rather than killing the credit markets, getting back to basics is absolutely essential to their future vitality. By contrast, throwing money at the system only forestalls the inevitable reckoning, and deprives us of the ability to use this 700 billion or more to help people meaningfully once the credit and stock markets readjust.

[wordvarc]

Let w's desultory presidency fail.

Stop bailing him out.

He's been bailed out all his life. Let him grow up.

[grp]

I wonder where Leahy has been the last 20 years. Shouldn't he and his like have seen this coming? And aren't Frank, and Dodd involved in the banking committees of the House and Senate? Phonies.

[kasinca]

A cursory review of the numbers in the Senate and House will indicate the the GoP has maintained either a majority or a large enough minority to stonewall any legislation that went against the thugs in the Bush Crime Family administration. Do you actually read the news are is it fed to you from FAUX and that lard assed gas bag on the radio?

[CaptainStormfield]

LOL..

[doctorwang]

Look up Phil Gramm (McC's buddy and financial advisor)- you can draw a straight line from this crisis to him.
BTW: the G0P has been in charge of this economy for the last 8 years.

B#sh=McC=The US economy.

[mjtaylor22]

you can google it right now.........
On November 12, 1999, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, was signed into law. This Act repealed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. One of the effects of the repeal was to allow commercial and investment banks to consolidate. Some economists have criticized the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act as contributing to the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis.[8][9]

But the Enron loophole was small potatoes compared to the devastation that unregulated swaps would unleash.

Senate Bill 3283, also named the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000.

Now traders had an officially deregulated market for energy futures. Worse, that bill also deregulated many financial instruments ” including the collateralized debt obligations that are at the center of today”s mortgage crisis, which may well cost us more than $1 trillion before it”s over.”

[radiojunkie]

Republican filibusters have prevented the Democrats from fixing lots of bad things.

[hapiguy]

Not so fast Mr Fox, Time that the Hen House gets some rules for all the CHICKENS in here,

[arebrown]

............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................So, this time we, the average american citizen GOING TO KNOW HOW OUR TAXES ARE SPEND or once again DEMOCRATS PLAYS THEIR PART







ps. After Obama fails to capture the presidency, remember that he was picked for superdelegates.

[foxfan]

And once again the Democrats stand in the way of doing something that is needed to help. They'll procrastinate long enough so things get worse, perhaps beyond repair and then they'll do what they always do, They'll blame Pres. Bush.

[ProfessorDuh]

Well, since Bush and the Republican deregulation thieves have DESTROYED THE ECONOMY, I would say that's appropriate.

[Bushwillresign]

When can we start suing the Bu$h crony gang?

[doctorwang]

I totally agree. I had a longer reply to foxfan, but it seems the moder@tors didn't like the language.

[wordvarc]

the failure of the trickle down economy, like his invasion, destablization, and occupation of Iraq is w's alone. this bailout is of the trickle down system and lets it stagger another month or two into the next presidency.

[doctorwang]

Ef you. The G0P has brought to the brink of disaster. Every time B#sh has had free rein he has scr#wed us over. Sad to say the majority of Americans have no faith left in their president (deservedly so).

BTW: chew on this: In the fall of 2007, the 110th Congress' 1st session broke the record, for filibuster cloture votes, topping 70 as of Nov 15, 2007. It is on track to triple the number of such votes in 2008's 2nd session.

Seems that just about everytime that the Dems wanted to get something done your Repugs have stood in the way.

[ToastOnDayOne]

I thought you folks believed in free markets. I say let your weird financial instruments fail and let the market readjust and credit markets return to doing business the old fashioned way, ie loans based on assets and risk. Then we will have the 700 billion to help lots of folks in an economy and credit system based on reality. By contrast, this Bush idea of a bailout sounds, well,..................... kind of Marxist to me.

[mjtaylor22]

I say let it fail, they want no regulation no overright.
lt it fail, and be bought out by their competition, remember free markets and competition.
blah blah blahhh

Senate Bill 3283, also named the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000
sposor was Phil Gramm,
And McCain wants this guy to be Treasury Secretary

[Lotus19]

Needed to help who? Foreign banks and greedy corporate elites? Thanks, but no thanks. The taxpayers are footing this bill. Should the Democrats just sign on the dotted line and trust that the *minor*l details (like huge salaries, and oversight) will simply work themselves out later? Surely you jest.

And by the way...it's not just Democrats who are opposed to this. .

[patianneb]

I've been calling everything the current regime has been doing the R@pe to the Finish Line for a long time...
this is the crown jewel ....possibly the mother of all violations

[pc51]

But they can't come up with one thin dime for healthcare....

[BabsfromKansas]

BREAKING NEWS

Congress, Bush team OK bailout terms; Stocks sink

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS 11 minutes ago

Scrambling for a quick accord on the $700 billion bailout, the Bush administration and leading lawmakers have agreed to include mortgage aid and strong congressional oversight along with unprecedented help for failing financial institutions, a key lawmaker said Monday.

Unimpressed, investors sent stocks plummeting anew, pushed oil up $16 a barrel and propelled gold prices ever higher as they searched for a safe place to park their money.

President Bush prodded Congress to pass the administration's rescue plan quickly, declaring, "The whole world is watching." And there did seem to be movement in talks between the White House and Capitol Hill.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said "a great deal of progress has already been made." And a government official with knowledge of the talks said the administration had agreed to create a plan to help prevent foreclosures on mortgages it acquires as part of the bailout — a key demand of Democratic lawmakers.

[Obamadaman]

Now that Bush has to take tough measures to clean up the mess that Democrats created, Democrats are still standing in his way. In 2003 Democrat Barnie Frank loudly opposed more oversite of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying it wasn't needed, and that it would keep poor people from getting affordable housing. I'm watching him right now on tv talking about how we need to "act now to address the mortgage crisis." He's also demgoguing CEO's who made irresponsible loans to avoid the penalties that regulation he and his fellow Democrats supported and defended for years. The arrogance and dishonesty of these guys boggle the mind.

[doctorwang]

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act, Pub.L. 106-102, 113 Stat. 1338, enacted 1999-11-12, is an Act of the United States Congress which repealed part of the Glass-Steagall Act, opening up competition among banks, securities companies and insurance companies. The Glass-Steagall Act prohibited a bank from offering investment, commercial banking, and insurance services. Economist Robert Kuttner (among others) has criticized the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act as contributing to the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis.[8] Economists Robert Ekelund and Mark Thornton have made similar criticisms, arguing that while "in a world regulated by a gold standard, 100% reserve banking, and no FDIC deposit insurance" the would have made "perfect sense" as a legitimate act of deregulation, under the present fiat monetary system the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act "amounts to corporate welfare for financial institutions and a moral hazard that will make taxpayers pay dearly".

Phil Gramm is McC's financial advisor and is considered to be Mc's choice for Treaury Sec. McC vote yes on the bill. If you want some info on Rick Davis just say the word.

[LoveOverGold]

Hey can I help?

TERROR!
9/11!
GAY MARRIAGE!
FLAG PIN!
TERROR!

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Duh in 2003 Republicans controlled Congress and the Presidency.

If Bush was serious it would have passed the Dems just wanted the right bill. The bill Bush was pushing actually had as much deregulation as regulations.

[defdes]

Most of what Bush has touched in the last 20 years he has bankrupted, why should the USA be any differant.

[LeoWong]

The government should not give money away by buying junk. It should lend money at interest to firms that show some likelihood of acting responsibly in the future.

[Earl]

For the first time in my life, I agree with Newt Gingrich. He lays out a case to NOT do this deal and I agree.

[Obamadaman]

The changes were generally opposed along Party lines and eventually failed to happen. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) claimed of the thrifts "These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis, the more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing." Representative Mel Watt (D-NC) added "I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing."[6]

Democrats could not have been more wrong if they tried. And now they blame Republicans?

All this is from wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Act

[doctorwang]

Too bad the record shows things differently. Try as you might, this is the G0P's doing. America knows it.

McCain campaign manager Davis headed the Homeownership Alliance, a lobbying association that included Fannie, Freddie, nonprofit groups, real estate agents, homebuilders and consumer advocates. The group’s stated goal was to increase affordable housing. But it also worked to oppose congressional efforts to tighten controls on Fannie and Freddie. In July 2003, Davis wrote to the American Banker, taking issue with an opinion piece by Leslie Paige of Citizens Against Government Waste, arguing that Fannie and Freddie should operate with greater transparency.

O , earlier this year and asked Paulson for more regulation and greater transparency. McC earlier this year...."I'm essentially a deregulator".....and -"the economy is fundamentally sound". Don't even get me started on the kingpin of this mess- Phil Gramm (McC's chief financial advisor).

[Obamadaman]

"The CRA was passed into law by the U.S. Congress in 1977 as a result of national grassroots pressure for affordable housing, and despite considerable opposition from the mainstream banking community. Only one banker, Ron Grzywinski from ShoreBank in Chicago, testified in favor of the act. [1]"

The CRA mandates that each banking institution be evaluated to determine if it has met the credit needs of its entire community. That record is taken into account when the federal government considers an institution's application for deposit facilities, including mergers and acquisitions. The CRA is enforced by the financial regulators (FDIC, OCC, OTS, and FRB).

In 1995, as a result of interest from President Bill Clinton's administration, the implementing regulations for the CRA were strengthened by focusing the financial regulators' attention on institutions' performance in helping to meet community credit needs. These revisions[1] with an effective starting date of January 31, 1995 were credited with substantially increasing the number and aggregate amount of loans to small businesses and to low- and moderate-income borrowers for home loans.

[doctorwang]

Phil Gramm- Mc's longtime financial advisor and his possible Treasury Sec., deserves most of the blame for repealing the Glass-Steagall Act.......a move that McC voted for. You can try all you want, but this meltdown is due to the policies of the G0P. "in November of 1999 Congress repealed the GSA with the establishment of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which eliminated the GSA restrictions against affiliations between commercial and investment banks."

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/03/071603.asp?Page=2