Senate Bailout Bill - 1.7 Billion in new Pork

[BeachSiO2]

They just don't get it, do they? WIll Obama stop this?

See my list for no votes. Your answer is there.

 

[Smiling JOe]

What is the problem? I love the Samoas Girl Scout Cookies, and I thought everyone liked Nascar racing.

Isn't it interesting that these yahoos in Congress cannot make anything happen quickly, yet they were extremely quick to write up a Bill for $700 billion and the Patriot Act. It reminds me of much of the year at the beach. Most days are uneventful as for the shaping of the beach by nature, but every once in a while, a storm comes through and greatly changes the status quo.

 

[BeachSiO2]

What is the problem? I love the Samoas Girl Scout Cookies, and I thought everyone liked Nascar racing.

Isn't it interesting that these yahoos in Congress cannot make anything happen quickly, yet they were extremely quick to write up a Bill for $700 billion and the Patriot Act. It reminds me of much of the year at the beach. Most days are uneventful as for the shaping of the beach by nature, but every once in a while, a storm comes through and greatly changes the status quo.

You are so politically incorrect!!!!! They are Caramel Delights.

 

[greenroomsurfer]

CONGRESS--- Breaking the law everyday they are in session(except for 2 weeks)

 

[Alicia Leonard]

The only kinda pork I want with my politics is BBQ.

I am Aleonard and I approve this message.

 

[Smiling JOe]

If only it were a total of $1.7 billion in pork. That is just the "new" pork. Including all pork, the reported total is $153 BILLION (with a "B").

 

[futurebeachbum]

You are kidding aren't you? There's not a chance he will stop it. For that matter, neither will McCain. They(the congress) have a 10% or so approval rating and yet they still get elected. The "pork" is why. Everyone likes "their" senator or congressman but not the body as a whole. As long as they keep bringing home the bacon it will remain that way. As P.J. Orourke said and I'm paraphrasing, "Every government is a parliament of whores and in our democracy, the whore's are us". It is truely pathetic.

When I was younger, the conventional wisdom was that you voted for a Democrat so that your district/state would everything it could and you voted for a Republican for President to keep everyone else from getting everything that they could.

I kind of miss those days.

 

[Santiago]

When I was younger, the conventional wisdom was that you voted for a Democrat so that your district/state would everything it could and you voted for a Republican for President to keep everyone else from getting everything that they could.

I kind of miss those days.

Those days are long gone. They are either Demublicans or Republicrats, the fine line is very blurry.

 

[30ashopper]

It was 74-25 and here are the NO votes as that list is smaller.

Sens. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), David Vitter (R-La.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

I've never been a fan of Nelson, but this was a stand up vote on his part. I don't agree with some of the things he said in his speech, like trying to stabilize the housing market and cut down on foreclosures (neither is possible or would help) but he does make some good points overall. He's earned my respect going forward for taking a stand.

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Madam President, the things that have been added to this bill such as the FDIC provisions as well as the energy tax extenders and other tax extenders that I have already voted in favor of, certainly I support them, but the underlying bill rewards the banks and leaves the little person with the short end of the stick, and that is not right. This plan rewards the investment banks that ran us into the ground and it hardly does anything to help the homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

If, under this bill, the financial institutions participate in the Treasury's program, they should accept reasonable limits on executive compensation, but under the bill they don't. The limits on executive compensation are left to the Treasury Secretary's discretion. Some CEOs who caused this crisis in the first place will benefit from this bailout and will also walk away with golden parachutes. That is not right. This creates a moral hazard the U.S. Government will undertake.

This bill sends a message to Wall Street that if they play fast and loose in the name of short-term profits, the Government will actually make up for their losses. And the bill does very little to help individual homeowners. Until we stabilize the housing market, which is the underlying ability to restructure the economy from this crisis--until we stabilize the housing market, and until we stem the record number of foreclosures, our market simply is not going to improve. While this bill authorizes the Treasury to develop and carry out a plan, it does not require financial institutions participating in the program to modify or refinance any loan. It only requires the Treasury to encourage loan modifications. Voluntary refinancing efforts will not solve our foreclosure crisis. We should mandate these efforts. We should start by requiring Fannie and Freddie to refinance the mortgages they hold on their books.

Furthermore, I think this bill should do more to investigate the business practices of major credit rating agencies. They fostered the enormous growth of the mortgage-backed securities. They gave securities, mainly consisting of subprime mortgages, the gold standard or the triple A rating. That rating gave investors the confidence that they were making safe investments. Without that triple A rating, insurance companies and pension funds and other investors would not have bought those products.

So I am calling for an investigation to probe the business practices of those agencies. Investors relied on and trusted those credit ratings, and the public deserves to know how these rating agencies concluded that such risky investments could receive such high credit ratings.

I could say a lot about this, but let me just say that the bottom line is, ultimately, this bill forces taxpayers to bail out investment banks that caused the crisis in the first place, and it does nothing to address the real problem, which is home foreclosures and a resuscitation of the housing market. Until we stop the record level of foreclosures, this crisis is going to continue to worsen, whether we pass this bill or not.

For these reasons, I oppose this bill. I think Congress can do better, and I think Congress can come up with a better, more targeted solution to this complex crisis.

It saddens me that I would oppose so many of my colleagues who have offered very cogent reasons. It is true we have to do something, but this particular legislation is not the right solution.

 

[30ashopper]

If only it were a total of $1.7 billion in pork. That is just the "new" pork. Including all pork, the reported total is $153 BILLION (with a "B").

I find it ironic that the guy running for president who said "I'll veto every bill riddled with pork that comes across my desk." just voted for a 700 billion bailout package riddled with 250 billion in pork.