rssHouse Kills Bailout; Uncertainty Reigns
Monday, September 29, 2008 at 6:26 pm
- 73 Comments
In a move that sent Wall Street stocks plunging, the House on Monday killed a massive $700-billion Wall Street bailout compromise negotiated with great urgency in recent days between the White House and congressional leaders.
The count was 228 to 205 against the measure, with 95 Democrats and 133 Republicans bucking their leaders to oppose the bill. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted as it became apparent the measure would fail, even as chamber leaders held the 15-minute vote open for an additional 25 minutes to convince opponents to switch their votes. The Dow ended the day down 778 points, or 7 percent — the sheerest single-day point drop in history.
Illustration by: Matt Mahurin
Congressional leaders somehow assumed that the threat of just such a reaction on Wall Street would convince rank-and-file on both sides of the aisle to support the administration’s plan. Now, the surprising outcome leaves House leaders struggling with what to do next. “I don’t know that we know the path forward at this point,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), who had urged Republicans to support the bill.
The controversial bailout proposal has been portrayed by supporters as a necessary, if unsavory, step to thaw the nation’s credit freeze and restore investor confidence in jittery markets. Before the vote, leaders from both sides of the aisle warned of the sweeping economic meltdown that could accompany inaction.
“No city or town in America would be untouched,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). “The alternative is nothing, and that is not acceptable.”
Earlier in the day, President George W. Bush also urged quick passage.
“I fully understand that this will be a difficult vote,” Bush said in a brief speech at the White House. “[But] every member of Congress and every American should keep in mind: A vote for this bill is a vote to prevent economic damage to you and your community.”
But the public has come out strongly against the proposal. In waves of emails and phone calls to Congress, voters have blasted the plan for rewarding the bad behavior of the nation’s financial institutions at the taxpayers’ expense. The bill’s failure is partly an indication that rank-and-file lawmakers from both parties were unwilling to cross their constituents just a few weeks before November’s elections.
Indeed, of the seven Democrats facing the toughest reelection contests in November, just one voted for the bill. That trend was mirrored across the aisle: Only two of the 11 Republicans in the tightest reelection fights supported the measure.
But it wasn’t only election considerations that sunk the legislation. Lawmakers of both parties opposed the bill for ideological reasons — and voted their instincts. Robert Borosage, co-director of Campaign for America’s Future, a liberal advocacy group, said the conventional wisdom going into the vote was that the better entrenched lawmakers would join their leaders in supporting the bill. “The theory was you’d get the safe seats to vote for it,” Borosage said. As it turned out, those were also the members most ideologically opposed.
Under the bailout plan, the Treasury Dept. would have access to hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to buy up the distressed assets of banks and other financial institutions. The government could then hold those assets for up to five years, with the idea of reselling them for a profit. If no profits were possible, the president would be forced to devise a plan to recoup the difference from Wall Street.
The plan allots $250 billion immediately, with an additional $100 billion available at the president’s request; and an additional $350 billion available with approval from Congress.
The bill also forces participating companies to grant the Treasury a share in their profits.
Conservative House Republicans have objected to the scope of the government’s interference in free-markets, arguing that a central tenet of capitalism is to allow bad businesses to fail.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) called the proposal “the biggest corporate welfare bill in history.”
Liberal Democrats, on the other hand, argue that the proposal primarily helps the titans of Wall Street while ignoring the struggling homeowner. Joining housing advocates, these Democrats have pushed to include a provision forcing lenders to refinance troubled mortgages to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
Instead, the compromise bill forces the Treasury Dept. to develop a plan encouraging lenders to refinance troubled mortgages in order to prevent foreclosures. “This bailout plan will fail to keep families in their homes,” said Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).
But Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, argued that the homeowner provisions contained in the compromise are better than the alternative. “They will get nothing,” Frank said, “if we’re not prepared to compromise some.”
Republicans focused blame on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) for failing to secure Democratic support. But both sides have been quick to blame the other.
It’s unclear what happens next. Immediately after the vote, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), an opponent of the bill, asked about the process for reconsidering the measure, leaving open the possibility that the lower chamber will get another shot to pass the bill.
Borosage of America’s Future, predicted the proposal will return later this week, perhaps including a few cosmetic changes in search of greater support.
With elections just week’s away, all members probably want nothing more than to be in their districts campaigning. But there’s also the sense that they can’t leave town before doing something — anything — to address the financial crisis. This is especially true if Wall Street continues to tank in response to a congressional stalemate.
“It will be irresponsible to do nothing,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Cal.).
He might have added, politically suicidal.
73 Comments
Comment posted September 29, 2008 @ 9:36 pm
ARIZONA VOTED AGAINST MCCAIN
I love the fact that John McCain blames the vote going against the bailout on Obama. But there is an interesting fact out there. ALL the representatives from Arizona voted against the bailout? It just shows how much the other reps from AZ respect McCain. If he can't get the republicans from his home state to vote with him how is he going to get the rest of the nation to work with him. Maybe they are angry because while McCain brags that in 26 years he has never done anything for his home state, they are all stuck working for the people of Arizona in DC.
ARIZONA
Democrats — Giffords, N; Grijalva, N; Mitchell, N; Pastor, N.
Republicans — Flake, N; Franks, N; Renzi, N; Shadegg, N.
Comment posted September 30, 2008 @ 4:36 am
ARIZONA VOTED AGAINST MCCAIN
I love the fact that John McCain blames the vote going against the bailout on Obama. But there is an interesting fact out there. ALL the representatives from Arizona voted against the bailout? It just shows how much the other reps from AZ respect McCain. If he can't get the republicans from his home state to vote with him how is he going to get the rest of the nation to work with him. Maybe they are angry because while McCain brags that in 26 years he has never done anything for his home state, they are all stuck working for the people of Arizona in DC.
ARIZONA
Democrats — Giffords, N; Grijalva, N; Mitchell, N; Pastor, N.
Republicans — Flake, N; Franks, N; Renzi, N; Shadegg, N.
Comment posted August 2, 2010 @ 8:05 am
If he can't get the republicans from his home state to vote with him how is he going to get the rest of the nation to work with him
Comment posted December 10, 2010 @ 2:36 am
Sports Network YORK November 23, nike running shoes the Guangzhou Asian Amateur into the 11th chase day, athletes from all nations launched a angry antagonism of 30 titles, nike shox classic mens while Asian Amateur contest amphitheater already afresh become the protagonist, mens nike shox nzadherent a absolute of 8 amateur ablaze final, shox monsteras the Chinese sports appointment to accomplish objectives beyond the important weight of 200 gold, nike shox oz men’s the Chinese clue and acreage athletes to play with the adherence of the Chinese sports appointment aloft the assurance of the advantages of today in their own projects, did not let the appellation afflicted hands. nike shox oz shoes In the cutting arena, cheap nike o’nine shoes led by the adept Zhang Shan of China women’s aggregation swept the 2 skeet gold in the accomplished cutting bout is about to end, so beauteous achievement will assuredly poor all-embracing achievement of the Chinese cutting aggregation to save some face . nike shox r4 women Known as the “dream team” of the Chinese diving aggregation alternate to abide their “dream to win the Tour”,Shox torch running shoes afterward bygone afterwards demography two gold, today they are afresh all 2 gold in the bag. cheap nike shox r5 Coupled with the avant-garde pentathlon, fencing, nike shox si tennis absorbing on the achievement of Chinese athletes afresh with about absolute achievement for the Chinese sports appointment to accord 11 gold.
Continued acceptable drive of China’s gold badge and compared the achievement of South Korea and Japan, it is eye-popping, cheap nike shox turbo were alone accounted for a simple 3 Gold and 1 gold. cheap turbo shoesThe Chinese Taipei appointment in roller skating and cycling on the accomplished achievement of South Korea and Japan is to accroach the thunder, 4 gold fetched a individual day, nike shox turbo oz si let the appointment of Chinese Taipei is abounding of approaching achievement expectations.
As of the end of the 11th bout day, cheap o’nine shoes the Chinese sports appointment to 165 gold in additional abode advanced of South Korean sports appointment of the abundant advantages of abutting to 100 gold medals and the medals baronial top position, nike tl1 shoes no two amateur at the Chinese sports appointment will will accomplish “Beyond 183″ target. shox tl3 South Korea and Japan are aswell abiding in the aboriginal 2 and 3 position.
Based on afresh started agrarian beginning of clue and acreage events, men nike shox tl3 and sports accoutrement cast Nike-sponsored clue and acreage dominance, decidedly in the planning by the sports network’s “brand of Asian Amateur medals table”,mens nike shox r5 the Nike won 6 gold almanac for a additional day, “a individual day Cast Star “title, and sit bound in the top atom in China, nike shox tl1 shoes Li Ning is the cutting and diving ambit of gold medals in a individual day beneath the 4 gold, affliction and” Star of the cast today, “pass.
Trackback posted August 24, 2011 @ 9:11 pm
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Trackback posted August 28, 2011 @ 8:52 am
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]…
Trackback posted August 29, 2011 @ 3:32 am
Read was interesting, stay in touch………
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]………
Trackback posted August 29, 2011 @ 2:00 pm
Superb website……
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]………
Trackback posted August 29, 2011 @ 3:41 pm
Blogs you should be reading……
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]………
Trackback posted August 29, 2011 @ 4:57 pm
Recent Blogroll Additions………
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]………
Trackback posted August 29, 2011 @ 6:26 pm
Sources Trackback Link……
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]………
Trackback posted August 30, 2011 @ 7:14 am
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Trackback posted August 30, 2011 @ 2:28 pm
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Trackback posted August 30, 2011 @ 4:15 pm
[...]the time to study or go to the written content or websites we have linked to under the[...]?…
[...]here are some hyperlinks to websites that people website link to since we believe they are worth visiting[...]?…
Trackback posted August 30, 2011 @ 6:45 pm
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Trackback posted August 30, 2011 @ 11:03 pm
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Trackback posted August 31, 2011 @ 3:47 am
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Trackback posted August 31, 2011 @ 7:57 am
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Trackback posted August 31, 2011 @ 12:37 pm
Websites you should visit…
[...]Gutters Lansing Mi 3105 S Martin Luther King Blvd, Lansing, MI 48910 (517) 489-2255[...]……
Trackback posted September 1, 2011 @ 12:13 am
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Trackback posted September 1, 2011 @ 6:27 am
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Trackback posted September 1, 2011 @ 7:26 am
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Trackback posted September 1, 2011 @ 7:40 am
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Trackback posted September 1, 2011 @ 11:13 am
Top Site…
I Love this!!! Nevertheless I’m not certain how squirrel is a tag for this, but oh well!!!…
Trackback posted September 1, 2011 @ 1:21 pm
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Trackback posted September 1, 2011 @ 8:08 pm
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Trackback posted September 2, 2011 @ 3:27 am
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Trackback posted September 2, 2011 @ 5:01 am
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Trackback posted September 2, 2011 @ 2:51 pm
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Trackback posted September 2, 2011 @ 7:39 pm
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Comment posted September 2, 2011 @ 10:26 pm
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]…
Trackback posted September 3, 2011 @ 2:13 am
Trackback Link…
[…] … great article that everyone should read […]…
Trackback posted September 3, 2011 @ 3:54 am
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Trackback posted September 3, 2011 @ 7:05 am
Our Trackback link…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Trackback posted September 3, 2011 @ 11:28 pm
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Trackback posted September 4, 2011 @ 7:01 am
Links Trackback…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Trackback posted September 4, 2011 @ 11:05 am
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Trackback posted September 4, 2011 @ 12:11 pm
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Trackback posted September 4, 2011 @ 12:17 pm
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Trackback posted September 4, 2011 @ 2:22 pm
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Trackback posted September 4, 2011 @ 2:55 pm
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Trackback posted September 4, 2011 @ 4:25 pm
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Trackback posted September 4, 2011 @ 8:54 pm
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Trackback posted September 4, 2011 @ 10:16 pm
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 1:25 am
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 5:35 am
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 6:43 am
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 8:58 am
Online Article…
[...]The information mentioned in the article is some of the finest I have seen [...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 10:28 am
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 10:54 am
I Have A Lot to Learn…
[...]The Original Article Here[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 10:59 am
Links Trackback…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 11:44 am
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 12:51 pm
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 2:01 pm
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 3:41 pm
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 8:44 pm
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Trackback posted September 5, 2011 @ 8:57 pm
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Trackback posted September 6, 2011 @ 5:59 am
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Trackback posted September 6, 2011 @ 6:28 am
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Trackback posted September 6, 2011 @ 6:34 am
Trackback Link…
[…] … great article that everyone should read […]…
Trackback posted September 6, 2011 @ 7:03 am
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Trackback posted September 6, 2011 @ 8:09 am
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Trackback posted September 6, 2011 @ 9:18 am
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Trackback posted September 6, 2011 @ 10:33 am
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Trackback posted September 6, 2011 @ 12:48 pm
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Trackback posted September 6, 2011 @ 1:19 pm
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Trackback posted September 6, 2011 @ 2:40 pm
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Trackback posted September 6, 2011 @ 3:27 pm
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Trackback posted September 7, 2011 @ 6:21 am
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Trackback posted September 7, 2011 @ 7:41 am
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Trackback posted September 7, 2011 @ 10:03 am
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Trackback posted September 7, 2011 @ 12:11 pm
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Trackback posted September 7, 2011 @ 12:19 pm
Recommended…
My brother suggested I might like this blog. He was entirely right. This post actually made my day. You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!…
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
