WASHINGTON - During six-hour debate in the Senate, almost every senator said he or she is opposed to the idea of the huge bailout, but the majority said they believe a crash in the credit markets will ensue if the bailout is not approved.
* "This is a sad moment in many ways, but a moment that has to come," said Democrat Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, who helped fashion the bill as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
* "The costs of inaction are far too great," said Democrat Hillary Clinton, of New York, who voted for the bill. "Our economy runs on credit and trust and both the credit and trust is running out."
* "Regrettably, a rescue plan is needed," said Democrat Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, summing up the position of many senators who voted for the bailout. "Like the taxpayers; I know that they are angry and mad as hell and so am I."
* "Time is short, we must act, because the crisis will only grow worse," said Republican Susan Collins, of Maine, who also voted in favor.
But many senators maintained the bailout would benefit Wall Street investors, many of whom caused the meltdown in the mortgage markets, at the expense of taxpayers.
* "I just do not believe that this bill gets the job done," said Republican Jim DeMint, of South Carolina, who voted against it. "In fact, I believe in the long term it will do more harm than good."
* An angry Independent Bernard Sanders, of Vermont, said he could not vote to bailout the entities that profited from the huge run-up in mortgage prices. "This bill is still not good enough. It should be rejected by the Senate," said Sanders, whose bid to add a 10% surcharge to people earning over $500,000 to pay for the bailout, failed.
* Sanders, the only avowed Socialist in the Congress, was joined by the conservative Republican Richard Shelby, of Alabama, who denounced the investors on Wall Street he said caused the meltdown in the financial system. "We did not get into this situation in a matter of days and we are not going to get out of it with a piece of legislation quickly cobbled together in the backroom of the United States Senate," said Shelby, the leading Republican on the Banking Committee.
"This bill does nothing for the average American," Shelby said. "The American taxpayer will pay for it coming and going."(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com/ http://www.sourcemedia.com/
