Iowa delegation vote on bailout bill

UPDATE:  here’s how Iowa’s congressional delegation voted on the $700 billion bailout bill.

First District Congressman Bruce Braley (D-Waterloo):  No

Second District Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-Mt Vernon): Yes

Third District Congressman Leonard Boswell (D-Des Moines): Yes

Fourth District Congressman Tom Latham (R-Ames): No

Fifth District Congressman Steve King (R-Kiron): No

Here’s a link to the roll call vote.

Braley’s office was first to issue a statement, at 1:11 p.m. central/2:11 p.m. eastern

Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) released the following statement after voting against the $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan:

“I have no doubt that action must be taken to stabilize our financial markets, protect American taxpayers, and rebuild our economy.  As I carefully considered the plan before the House today, I made my decision with the best interest of Iowa families in mind.  I cannot support a multi-billion dollar handout to Wall Street that fails to adequately protect the interests of Iowa taxpayers, and short-changes Iowa families.   

“Wall Street greed and lack of oversight by the Bush Administration caused the current problems in our financial markets.  Now Iowa taxpayers are being asked to save these companies from their irresponsible choices.  Working families should not be forced to foot the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes, without stronger language to protect their interests.  While putting taxpayers on the hook for nearly a trillion dollars, the bill provides insufficient protection against abuses by the Secretary, fails to guarantee a return on taxpayer dollars, and provides no direct help for middle class families.  This is the wrong approach. 

“For far too long, this Administration has ignored the needs on Iowa’s Main Streets, while preaching the gospel of “wealth-at-any-cost” on Wall Street.   Many families in Iowa were being squeezed by rising costs and natural disasters before this economic crisis, yet this bailout does little to help Iowa families make ends meet.   

“To help our economy grow, we should also be investing in the future of our country by rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure and creating jobs that can’t be outsourced overseas, like the 15,000 employees AIG has in China.  We should increase our investment in renewable energy, to create jobs at home and move our country away from foreign oil.  Devoting hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out Wall Street will limit our ability to make these critical investments. 

“While I agree that we must take action on our economy, today’s plan benefits Wall Street CEOs while leaving working families to fend for themselves.  This plan doesn’t go far enough to help Iowans at risk of losing their homes, jobs or savings, nor does it provide the resources necessary to invest in the future.   Iowa’s working families and taxpayers deserve better.”

Loebsack’s staff was the second to mail out a statement at 1:26 p.m. central/2:26 p.m. eastern.

REP. LOEBSACK: WE MUST RETURN TO THE NEGOTIATION TABLE TO PREVENT GREATER ECONOMIC CRISIS

Bipartisan, Bicameral Authored Economic Rescue Plan Does Not Pass The U.S. House

Washington, DC – Congressman Dave Loebsack (IA-02) released the following statement after voting in support of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, H.R. 3997, which failed by a vote of 205-228 in the United States House of Representatives.

“Our economy is in crisis, and hardworking families are struggling just to make ends meets.  Iowans are finding it more difficult than ever to afford basic necessities, while others are seeing their savings, for college, a new home, and retirement, slip away. 

“Now we are seeing failures in our financial markets, failures that could have devastating effects on our families, small businesses, and local community banks.  Sadly, much of this is a result the failed Bush Administration economic policies, and because of lack of regulation, discipline, and supervision on the part of the Administration.

“After finally admitting that federal action must be taken, President Bush and Secretary Paulson came to Congress asking for $700 billion so they could attempt to solve the problems their own failed policies helped to create.  They were asking Congress to provide a blank check, devoid of safeguards and necessary oversight.  This proposal was simply unacceptable; it failed to prove taxpayer protections, and did nothing to help families and small businesses suffering under the administration’s failed economic policies.

“After long hours and great compromise, improvements were made to the rescue plan that we hoped would stabilize the markets, protect taxpayers, stave off the threat of a greater economic crisis, and encourage financial growth in our local economies.   While this bill was not perfect, and we were certainly not operating under ideal circumstance, I cast a vote in support of this compromised package because I believed that members of Congress had a responsibility to act in the best interest of their constituents and country.

"I fear inaction will result in a widening of this economic crisis and ultimately threatens to cripple our local economies and cause long-term financial damage to hard working families and Main Street USA.  We simply cannot let that happen.  Members of the House and Senate – both Democrats and Republicans – must return to the negotiating table so we can prevent further economic crisis and begin to enact."

At 1:32 p.m. central/2:32 p.m. eastern, Congressman Tom Latham’s staff issued the following statement.

Latham Statement on Wall Street Bailout Vote

Washington, D.C.–Iowa Congressman Tom Latham has released the following statement on today’s U.S. House of Representatives vote on the Wall Street bailout:

"I voted against the Wall Street bailout package because it rewards the reckless executives who got us into this mess in the first place. Congress has more work to do, and we must continue working together—both Republicans and Democrats—on this crisis to find a comprehensive, long-term solution to that does not saddle taxpayers with having to pay for the excesses and greed of Wall Street. Iowans deserve no less."

At 4:32 p.m. central/5:32 p.m. eastern, Congressman Steve King’s staff emailed the following statement:

Economic Crisis: Where we go from here, by Congressman Steve King (R-Kiron)

"The taxpayer funded bailout has failed.  It failed because the big government solution didn’t fix the problem. 

"We face a serious financial crisis.  We must act to bring long-term stability to the financial markets.  Doing “something” is not enough, we must do the right thing.  And, we must do it in the right way so that Wall Street won’t count on a bailout every time that they skate too close to the edge. 

"In America, we believe in personal responsibility. We succeed or fail by our own merits.  The people who make the bad decisions on Wall Street need to live with the consequences of their actions.  If we bail out Wall Street’s risky behavior, we will get even riskier behavior next time. They will not learn their lesson. Congress should not force you as taxpayers to bail out Wall Street with your hard-earned tax dollars.

"How much money were Paulson and Wall Street asking from you to bail them out of this crisis?  With Congress supplying another $700 billion dollars, the financial bailout tab is 1.8 trillion dollars (and rising).  What do 1.8 trillion taxpayer dollars look like? Imagine a line of millionaires standing shoulder to shoulder, stretching across Iowa on I-80.  Each millionaire takes up a yard of highway and represents one million dollars of the 1.8 trillion dollar bailout.  As you drive on I-80 starting in our capital city of Des Moines, you would see nothing but a blur of millionaires going by.  By the time you reached Washington, D.C., 1018 miles later, you wouldn’t have passed enough millionaires to account for the entire 1.8 trillion dollars.

"I voted “no” on the bailout bill which would have spent your taxpayer dollars to save Wall Street from the consequences of their bad decisions.  This bailout would have set a precedent for future bailouts, and if it had passed you could bet that the next one would be even bigger. 

"With the bailout failing to pass, doing nothing is not an option.  If the disease on Wall Street is not isolated, it could spread to solid banks who have made sound decisions. We need to create a firewall to protect our banks from Wall Street’s bad decisions.  Not all banks are blameless, and the ones who speculated irresponsibly should fail. Most of our banks used sound judgment and will weather the storm.  If we build a firewall to protect the good banks, America will be able to weather this recessionary storm. 

"The good news is that we have several options that don’t rely on taxpayers to bailout Wall Street.  The FDIC can work with banks to ease capital requirements to help them weather the storm.  The SEC can modify fair value accounting so that assets aren’t worthless during times like these, but can be measured on the basis of their true economic value.  There is also a proposal to let private investors fund the bailout through Guaranteed Recovery Bonds, or to set up insurance programs to ensure Wall Street bankrolls its own recovery. Another idea would waive capital gains and other taxes on certain investments to attract more capital where it is needed.

"America is going through a tough time right now and it will get harder before it gets better.  But, we know that the strength of America’s economy is in our free market system.  We can act to address this crisis in a way that does not sacrifice our freedom as Americans. We can weather this storm if we stay true to our principles and work for a free market solution to address the financial crisis.