[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 17] [House] [Page 24012] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]WHY I VOTED AGAINST THE SENATE REPUBLICAN BAILOUT BILL The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday morning, the morning after the Senate passed a very different bailout bill, two things happened: The filings for new unemployment benefits hit a 7-year high, and a number of telephones melted in my congressional office as my constituents called in their opinions. By the thousands, the people in the Seventh Congressional District are absolutely enraged by what the Senate put over here. Senate Republicans blocked Senate Democrats from legislation that delivers for Main Street. Senate Republicans demanded the pot be sweetened, but they left out the millions of Americans who can't find a job and are running out of benefits. And they left out a lot of other Americans, too. With economic times getting rougher by the day, Senate Republicans have no problem telling the American people you've got to go it alone. Last week, the House passed on a strong bipartisan vote a stimulus package that would help Main Street, but Senate Republicans said no. They were willing to help Wall Street, but looked the other way for Main Street. One caller said they were stunned that the Senate included a call for the Securities and Exchange Commission to alter a fundamental way assets are valued. It's called mark-to-market accounting, and let me quote an NPR report. The Council of Institutional Investors and the CFA Institute oppose a suspension of mark-to-market--also known as ``fair value''--accounting because, in their opinion, the rule offers investors transparency. In other words, suspending the rule is letting the fox into the henhouse. The other day I voted in favor of the House bailout bill because I trusted Democratic leaders who worked tirelessly to represent Main Street. I still do, but Senate Republicans changed all that. When Republicans force a bill that ignores the plight of regular Americans but includes so-called sweeteners, that is not worthy of support. When Republicans force a bill that slips in more earmark spending, that's not worthy of support. When Republicans force a bill through that includes an accounting gimmick, that is not worthy of support. The Senate dug an enormous ditch alongside Main Street, and they want the House to drive into it. That is exactly what the President has driven this economy into over the last 7 years. When Senate Republicans set the agenda, that's just another way of saying they are following the orders of the President who long ago lost all the trust of the American people. That is not how we are going to restore the trust with the American people. And that is why I voted against the Senate Republican bailout. {time} 1500 There is no question that we need a rescue plan, but the Senate has just made matters worse, and that is pretty hard to do in this economy. Government has a role to play in calming the markets and addressing the economic crisis, but the more we learn, the more convinced I am the latest Senate plan is taking us in the wrong direction. There are two models that have worked and which would serve as the foundation blocks that we can build upon in a short period of time to produce a plan that Americans could trust and believe in. During the Depression, President Roosevelt developed a Home Loan Housing Corporation that stabilized the housing market and helped homeowners work through the foreclosures. More recently, in the 1990s, Sweden stepped in and assumed temporary control of the financial system, cleaned up the mess, and then got out. There are models available that we can use to quickly produce a solution that the American people will actually believe in because they will understand it and it will be transparent. The amendment from the Senate was to make it more un-transparent. There is a credit crisis in the United States to be sure, but there is no question today that there is also a trust crisis in America, every bit as damaging and debilitating. We cannot solve the first crisis before we address the second. Since the current administration precipitated this, we should be focused on rebuilding a new foundation for a new administration to restore the faith and trust of the American people as we work to restore the trust and credit of our financial system. Since the current administration precipitated this, we should be focused on building a foundation for a new administration to restore the faith and trust of the American people as we work to restore the trust and credit of our financial system. ____________________