The Democrats claim they have the votes to pass the original bill. Then pass it Democrats. Bush will sign it.
The Democrats will NOT pass it without The Republicans because they are afraid that the plan won't work (and in this they are correct) and refuse to put their heads on the chopping block if they spend $700 billion or more and the economy collapses anyway. They demand that Republicans march into the furnace with them.
Rep. McCotter's (R-Mich) Forceful Rebuke of Bailout Plan on House Floor
Before I was elected to Congress we used to hear that when faced with a crisis, members of Congress would invariably soil themselves, throw money at the problem and hope that it went away.
Unfortunately, in these dysfunctional economic times, we find that this process has continued.
As Americans face a potential meltdown of the financial sector, we have seen what I believe to be an inappropriate response starting with this Administration.
From the time we were informed that a potential financial meltdown was going to occur, this separate equal branch of government which is the U.S. Congress was told that we had but one alternative and that if we did not pass it quickly — in the time specified *by* the executive branch — that our economy would be severely damaged.
It has been my opinion that we were elected, by the sovereign people of the United States, to make important decisions on their behalf, to do it with the due diligence and devotion that is due and to come up with a positive solution to their situation.
Last night, I was struck by the fact that again we were told [by the President] that again if we did not give unlimited amounts of money and unlimited powers to the Executive Branch that *we* were failing in our due diligence and responsibilities to the American people.
I heard the President of the United States say that we do not understand the need to act.
That statement is false. We understand the need to act.
We heard from the President of the United States that we did not care about American families.
That statement is false. We care very much about American families.
What we did not hear was a recognition that a three-page document that gives to the Treasury Secretary and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve powers — the likes of which Stalin and Mao killed people for — was not an acceptable response to give to this separate, equal branch of government.
Today, we are told that House Republicans are standing in the way of a $700 billion use of your tax dollars to bail out the very people who caused this problem!
Guilty as charged!
House Republicans believe there is an alternative.
The Administration tells us that their first, last, only resort is to go to the taxpayers and bail out Wall Street. We fundamentally disagree with this!
Wall Street should bail out Wall Street.
House Republicans believe that the toxic assets clogging up our economy should first attempt to be recapitalized by the very people sitting on the sidelines with their money waiting for you the taxpayer to be fleeced and put it in so they are “confident that the market will work”.
We can not re-inflate the bubble.
The people who on Main Street invested and saved and had good credit their entire lives should not be asked to go back in to help cowboy capitalists who shot themselves in the foot.
I have supported the President when he has been correct.
But he is in err now.
House Republicans stood and supported the Patreus surge.
Today House Republicans oppose the Paulson splurge so we can have prosperity in America in the long run.
We will not engage in a rush to judgment that destroys the possibility of the free market and prosperity for decades to come.
We will not walk out of this room after a forced vote waving a piece of paper in our hands claiming “fleeced in our time.”
We *will* do the job we were entrusted with.
"I nationalize strategic companies and get criticized, but when Bush does it, it's OK. Bush is turning socialist. How are you, comrade Bush?''
- Hugo Chavez
I heard that Wall Street traders will treat us like liberators.
The next Treasury Secretary could, under this act, order Goldman Sachs to sell $1billion worth of stocks to Morgan Stanley at $1. The order would be lawful under the act, there would be no appeal, and no court could intervene. Consider that just about every medium and large company in the country does such things as issue bonds and offer stock options to it's employees. That's enough to qualify. If that's not straight dictatorship, I don't know what is.
If there is one fact we really can prove, from the history that we really do know, it is that despotism can be a development, often a late development and very often indeed the end of societies that have been highly democratic. A despotism may almost be defined as a tired democracy. As fatigue falls on a community, the citizens are less inclined for that eternal vigilance which has truly been called the price of liberty; and they prefer to arm only one single sentinel to watch the city while they sleep.
"The Secretarys authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time"
This is clever and nobody in the mainstream media has figured it out.
If you think the cost of this bill is $700 billion, you're wrong. The cost is actually infinite and the entire bill constitutes a giant money-laundering scheme.
Paulson can (and presumably will) buy up to $700 billion of these "assets", then sell them. Let's say he decides to buy them at 60 cents on the dollar and sell them for 10. You, the taxpayer, will eat the fifty cents, for an immediate cost of $350 billion dollars.
Having done so, he is then authorized to do so again, since the $700 billion is no longer on the government's balance sheet.
LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR TREASURY AUTHORITY
TO PURCHASE MORTGAGE-RELATED ASSETS
Section 1. Short Title.
This Act may be cited as ___________________.
Sec. 2. Purchases of Mortgage-Related Assets.
(a) Authority to Purchase.—The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.
(b) Necessary Actions.—The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:
(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;
(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;
(3) designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them;
(4) establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase mortgage-related assets and issue obligations; and
(5) issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities of this Act.
Sec. 3. Considerations.
In exercising the authorities granted in this Act, the Secretary shall take into consideration means for—
(1) providing stability or preventing disruption to the financial markets or banking system; and
(2) protecting the taxpayer.
Sec. 4. Reports to Congress.
Within three months of the first exercise of the authority granted in section 2(a), and semiannually thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Committees on the Budget, Financial Services, and Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committees on the Budget, Finance, and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate with respect to the authorities exercised under this Act and the considerations required by section 3.
Sec. 5. Rights; Management; Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.
(a) Exercise of Rights.—The Secretary may, at any time, exercise any rights received in connection with mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act.
(b) Management of Mortgage-Related Assets.—The Secretary shall have authority to manage mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act, including revenues and portfolio risks therefrom.
(c) Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.—The Secretary may, at any time, upon terms and conditions and at prices determined by the Secretary, sell, or enter into securities loans, repurchase transactions or other financial transactions in regard to, any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act.
(d) Application of Sunset to Mortgage-Related Assets.—The authority of the Secretary to hold any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act before the termination date in section 9, or to purchase or fund the purchase of a mortgage-related asset under a commitment entered into before the termination date in section 9, is not subject to the provisions of section 9.
Sec. 6. Maximum Amount of Authorized Purchases.
The Secretarys authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time
Sec. 7. Funding.
For the purpose of the authorities granted in this Act, and for the costs of administering those authorities, the Secretary may use the proceeds of the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, are extended to include actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses. Any funds expended for actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses, shall be deemed appropriated at the time of such expenditure.
Sec. 8. Review.
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
Sec. 9. Termination of Authority.
The authorities under this Act, with the exception of authorities granted in sections 2(b)(5), 5 and 7, shall terminate two years from the date of enactment of this Act.
Sec. 10. Increase in Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.
Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof $11,315,000,000,000.
Sec. 11. Credit Reform.
The costs of purchases of mortgage-related assets made under section 2(a) of this Act shall be determined as provided under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, as applicable.
Sec. 12. Definitions.
For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Mortgage-Related Assets.—The term mortgage-related assets means residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages, that in each case was originated or issued on or before September 17, 2008.
(2) Secretary.—The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury.
(3) United States.—The term United States means the States, territories, and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia.
Government officials handling billions of dollars in oil royalties partied, had sex with and accepted golf and ski outings from employees of energy companies they were dealing with, federal investigators said Wednesday.
"Sexual relationships with prohibited sources cannot, by definition, be arms-length," Devaney said.
