Representatives Defend Bailout Votes
By SHELLEY HANSONArticle Photos
Fact Box
HOW THEY VOTED
How area members of Congress voted for the $700 billion emergency financial rescue:
Mollohan, D-W.Va.For
Capito, R-W.Va.Against
Space, D-OhioFor
Wilson, D-OhioFor
Article Links
» Bush: Try AgainWHEELING - Local legislators defended their votes for and against a $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan that failed Monday in a 228-205 decision by the House of Representatives.
U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., was the lone "no" vote among local representatives Charles Wilson and Zack Space, both D-Ohio, and Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., all of whom voted in favor of the plan.
Space could not be reached for comment at press time Monday.
- Capito said in a news release that she voted against the measure because $700 billion was too large a burden for taxpayers.
"Today, the American people stood up to say they wouldn't stand for a $700 billion bailout," Capito said. "As a steward of West Virginia tax dollars, I couldn't in good conscience support something that would have amounted to the largest bailout in history, nor was I willing to turn my back on my constituents who were adamantly opposed to this proposal.
"A problem with its roots in bloated mortgages and Wall Street board rooms shouldn't fall at the feet of taxpayers for a fix. West Virginia families who pay their bills on time and play by the rules deserve far better than this $700 billion bet that would shoulder enormous debt on our children and grandchildren in the blink of an eye.
"We are in unchartered waters and I have a fundamental disagreement with the idea that we were about to spend $700 billion of taxpayer money to protect Wall Street investments without significant assurances that this would work. This is too much money, with too little time, too little support and no way to know if the plan would even do the job. Now we can come back to the drawing board and work for an outcome that is more in line with the needs or West Virginia taxpayers."
Capito spokesman Jonathan Coffin said Congress likely will be back in session Thursday.
"We'll look to see this process move forward," he said. "The discussion is not over, and we'll be seeking a plan that is a better deal for the taxpayers. The reality is that we shouldn't acquiesce to a misguided deal just to meet an artificial deadline. The goal must be to get the right deal for West Virginians, and that's where the congresswoman's focus will be."
- In his prepared statement, Mollohan said he voted in favor of the plan because it would have kept the current financial crisis for worsening.
"It is necessary to keep a credit crisis - that is already making it harder to buy a home, get a loan to start a small business, or even finance a student's college education - from creating much more serious economic problems in communities all across America," Mollohan said.
He described Monday's vote as a setback, noting Congress would remain in session to work on the legislation to stabilize the nation's financial system.
"Eleven days ago, President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congressional leaders that a looming financial crisis threatened the economy. This warning, coming after months of assurance from the President that the fundamentals of the economy were strong, caught many in the country by surprise. Congressional Democrats took their warning seriously and began an intense period of negotiations with the administration to refashion the president's initial plan, which was little more than a $700 billion no-strings-attached bailout for some of Wall Street's biggest firms," he said.
Provisions were added to the proposed legislation. According to information from Mollohan's office, "Specifically, the plan would: give the government an ownership stake in participating companies, ensuring that taxpayers would not foot the bill for mistakes made on Wall Street; place sharp restrictions on executive compensation for participating companies; allow the government to purchase troubled assets from pension plans, local governments, and small banks that serve low- and middle-income families; put taxpayers first in line to recover assets if participating companies fail; establish four separate oversight entities, including an independent board appointed by bipartisan leaders of Congress that can overrule the Treasury Department; and direct the Treasury Department to modify mortgages it owns to help reduce the 2 million foreclosures projected over the next year."
- In his news release, Wilson said he voted in favor of the plan "because it was crafted and supported by a group of Democrats and Republicans."
Wilson also noted the plan was improved since first being presented by Bush.
"I'm disappointed that so many members of the House put their own political futures ahead of America's future. I believe I stood up for America and voted for the country with this vote. I supported this emergency legislation because it was crafted and supported by a group of Democrats and Republicans, it was not a gift to Wall Street and because it would have protected Main Street. Our plan required that every dollar be paid back," he said.
According to Wilson's office, improvements to the legislation included: "Banning multi-million dollar golden parachutes for executives who retire from failing companies; tough independent oversight and transparency; and preventing home foreclosures crippling the American economy, allowing the government to work with loan servicers on new mortgage terms."
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wonderwhy
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10-02-08 2:20 PM
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tmoore- thing is, i own a gun and go to church. and i somewhat believe what he says is true, i cling to both of mine. gets me thru the day. but i have more so under the current adminstration than i ever have felt the need to
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tmoore
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10-01-08 6:35 PM
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You really are stupid. Fannie,Freddie and all the cash taken by dems and all the blocking of meaningful legislation is right on the money. Ayres,Wright,on the money. Barb hyped him another 25 million,and all the while telling San fran the PA. and WV. people just cling to guns and religion. Im sure Obama never picked up a gun to defend this country. Perhaps Osamas' country.
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wonderwhy
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10-01-08 4:43 PM
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tmoore. so you are saying from your previous post tht this is the truth? all your 'truth' is incrdibly exagerated 'Lets see,Ayres for Secratary od State,Wright an ambassadorship,Streisand for health care czar,Oprah welfare czar,yep,his cabinet looking clearer.Add in the 800 billion more for welfare and that about sums it up. A real black Robin Hood in the hood.' give me a break, i have a feeling you are one of the previous bloggers with a new name so you can just make stuff up spread it along with your namecalling and think someone will listen. and someone will. hopefully no one that is remotely informed. on to the issues.
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tmoore
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10-01-08 4:05 PM
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You are a liar. No made up names or scenarios here. Facts.Well known facts.
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tmoore
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10-01-08 2:45 PM
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You may want to ad Raines cooked the books for over 200 million dollars so as to get his bonusesbefore being kicked out. All aboard,San Quentin next stop.
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tmoore
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10-01-08 2:33 PM
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Hell,he was a lobbyist. Why did Obama collect more from them in 4 years than all except Dodd? He is not a lobbyist. its called a payoff. Plain and simple. Thats my answer and Im sticking to it.You forgot Obamas advisor Rianes collected over 90 million from them and Johnson his VP advisor also collected tens of millions. Should I continue. You dont want to go down that road,believe me.
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wonderwhy
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10-01-08 12:56 PM
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tmoore and dme- and who are the racists? and i would again point out, i don't make names up for whoever you tow are, or anyone else on these posts. do you see a pattern? now to the issues, since you are fixated on a video that is disturbing. but surely not the only one. would you comment on why rick davis, mccain's campaign mgr was on fannie mae's payroll for 5 years. how about all the subsidies, that are put on to bills to help drug companies drive up the price of drugs? isntead of making up names or untrue scenarios for the next video, why won't you ever answer questions and comments honestly and on some research base? you make up names and scenarios, that just are NOT TRUE!
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dmxem20011
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10-01-08 11:56 AM
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the rose garden= a watermelon patch
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tmoore
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10-01-08 11:46 AM
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Lets see,Ayres for Secratary od State,Wright an ambassadorship,Streisand for health care czar,Oprah welfare czar,yep,his cabinet looking clearer.Add in the 800 billion more for welfare and that about sums it up. A real black Robin Hood in the hood.
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tmoore
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10-01-08 11:42 AM
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Wonderbozo,watch video of the dems clows berating Reps for warning about Fannie and Fred. Take your blinders off or rent a tv.Maxine,Barney,they are all on the video mking a fool of themselves.
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wonderwhy
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10-01-08 8:58 AM
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and have you noticed that i at least comment on your talking points, you however just bring up baloney that rush spews.
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wonderwhy
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10-01-08 8:57 AM
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tmoore- you continue your 'rush' to judgement i actaully know rush lovers that at least admit it. you keep bringing up his talking points, and try to scare folks , yet you don't mention we should be afraid of a candidate who has said, he knows nothing about th eeconomy, then reiterated it saying the economy is stropng , adn now is rushing to washington to save us all. keep up your hate gig, very unappealing, in my opinion
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tmoore
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10-01-08 8:53 AM
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Clean campaign? Axelrod wouldnt know the meaning of it.Criticising a war veteran because his mangled hands cant use a computer. Nice. Maybe rev Wright will say a prayer.Will Obama vot Present this week?????????????????
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tmoore
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10-01-08 8:50 AM
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Glad you listen to Rush. I never have.,but the video has been on TV all this week.Next can we expect a video of Obama and terrorist Ayres strolling by the White House? Did he ever give an apology to the people he and his wife killed? Good friends that Obama has. And Ayres gave Obama his first fundraiser.mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
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wonderwhy
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10-01-08 8:36 AM
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tmoore- have you caught any of the videos of mccain talking about the plane on ebay, that he claims wa sold for a profit, have you caught the one that he says' the fundamentals of the economy are strong' have you caught the one that he says he is going to run a clean campaign? have you caught the many gaffe's of palin on film. frank and dodd aren't running for the presidency. and we can find all sorts of great videos . how about the one that bush gave us the middle finger and called it a one finger victory sign. but, i notice you have found some dirt that you think is relevant. again. that was on rush 's show for two days.
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tmoore
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10-01-08 8:11 AM
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If wonder wants the TRUTH,all he has to do is watch taht video of all the Dems arguing how great shape Fannie and Freddie are in while they line their pockets with cash. Its a confession on film. Frank is now in trouble at home. Dodd is hiding.And not forget,Dems added 500 million for left wing nuts ACORN in last bill. Line those pockets.Obama #2 cash eater in only four yrs. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
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wonderwhy
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10-01-08 6:32 AM
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the REAL prob is that the banking institutions were not regulated, you know mccain's stance and the administration stance on the free lending , and now the heads to be, flipper mccain is going to run in and save the economy by regulating it. wow, looks as if the middle american tx payer will eat this one, since mccain wants to leave bush's tax plan in forever. sort of like how he wants to stay in iraq for 100 years. has anyone even thought about the cost of the war vs this bailout plan. starting today , oct 1, the bush's plan for the budget is 711 billion for military spending. think this is a coincidence? his blantant wreckless spending he has laid in the laps of americans. shameful
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Thoughtful
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10-01-08 12:25 AM
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Mc Cain Palin 08 Let's get the Ohio Valley back to work. Let's use our coal resources cleanly. Let's drill, let's build 35 new nuclear power plants. WE need to lower the business taxes, lower interest rates, and create jobs. Jobs come from the private sector not government. WE must free the credit markets and begin to expand the economy.
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tmoore
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09-30-08 9:46 PM
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Did anyone see the smooth Biden try to force the paraplegic to get out of his wheelchair? Pathetic. Biden has many lipsticks in his pockets. Plagiarism is one that comes to mind when he ran once before. He was laughed off the ticket.
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tmoore
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09-30-08 9:42 PM
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Lets hope Biden brings Roosevelt and one of those 1929 tv film clips he is talking about. Perhaps he needs some lipstick on that morning train ride.Maybe Colemans will give Wonder a $1 fish sandwich.
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WVJeep
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09-30-08 7:51 PM
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Reality, looks like liveleak dot com has it now.. Looks for a title called Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?. www dot liveleak dot com/view?i=f67_1222761495 This video seems to be cause a lot of stir on the political forums.
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EllisWyatt
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09-30-08 7:51 PM
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Sadly, this bill would have passed if Nancy Pelosi hadn't made her political speech in which she attempted to blame Republicans for the mess we are in. After 94 Democrats voted against her, she questioned the patriotism of the Republican party, failing to mention that she was not a powerful enough Speaker Of The House to strong arm 17 more votes from the 94 holdouts in her own party. This woman is obviously not qualifed to be Speaker. She promised change in the first 100 hours of Democratic control of Congress. Instead, she gave everyone 2 days off to go watch the College National Championship game. Constitutionally, Congress has the power to make war beyond 60 days. Pelosi promised to end the war and, 20 months later, the Dems have yet to vote to cut off funding. Why not? Well, the Democrats are weak on defense and a vote to cut off funding would keep them out of power for 40 years. Sorry Code Stinko, your goal of betraying the troops has not been met!
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wonderwhy
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09-30-08 5:26 PM
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destroy- good point! thanks for having a rational opinion on these blogs. and i personally wished yu wouldn't have apoligized to the right wing extremist blogs a few days ago. it does seem that they are in some sort of back rubbing cult.
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wonderwhy
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09-30-08 5:11 PM
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and since the adimistration is so frugal, why wasn't the pres vetoing spending bills that were ridiculou? so he could get teh money for his unfounded war. if you listen to the debates, obama did make a point that he would end the iraq war responsibly, and then go where the real prob is. and then palin agreed to it, and had to retract her statemnts, casue she just simply doesn't know. let's just talk about her lipstick and charisma
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wonderwhy
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09-30-08 5:09 PM
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tmoore- your posts and remarks are attacking me for havign an opion. at least i have someone to take out and have dinner with! you on the other hand,............
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