Schwartz Statement on Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

From the inbox:

U.S. Representative Allyson Schwartz released the following statement concerning the House vote on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

“As the American people have witnessed over the past several days, the instability in the financial markets requires immediate attention.

“The longer this instability continues, the harder it will be for employers to meet payroll, for retirement plans to meet their obligation to retirees, and for families to access the credit they need to pay for college, for a car, for a home, or for just getting by.

“The road has been difficult, but the risk posed to everyday Americans is simply too great not to act.

“My constituents and I were appalled when President Bush asked us to hand over $700 billion with no oversight, no accountability, and no reforms to the fundamentally flawed policies that allowed this crisis to occur.

“Due to bipartisan cooperation – and now compromise between the Senate and the House of Representatives – this economic recovery proposal is fundamentally different than the proposal first brought to us by President Bush.

“Today, we have an economic recovery proposal before us that will protect the interests of hardworking Americans by:

o Restoring investor confidence in our economy and the financial markets;

o Protecting taxpayers by requiring full transparency of actions taken by the Treasury Secretary, creating a strong oversight board appointed by Congress, and establishing an independent Inspector General to guarantee compliance;

o Ensuring fiscal responsibility by making resources available in installments that require Congressional and Presidential approval, and guaranteeing that the financial services industry repays any losses to the U.S. Treasury;

o Helping distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure by facilitating loan modifications; and

o Limiting the compensation for the corporate executives that created this crisis by eliminating multi-million dollar golden parachutes.

“I will vote for the proposal before us today because I believe that the current economic crisis requires action by Congress.

“It is unfortunate that the Senate took this opportunity to add unrelated measures to this bill.

“These measures include items that I have strongly supported – such as:

o Mental health parity;

o Alternative Minimum Tax relief;

o Property tax relief;

o The personal deduction for higher education expenses;

o Incentives for energy conservation and the development of alternative and renewable energy; and

o The extension of current tax policies that encourage innovation and help U.S. companies compete internationally.

“I support these proposals and I appreciate that they will become law by our action today. But, I believe that we should have – and could have – covered the cost of these provisions, had the Senate not acted first.

“It is also embarrassing that just a few Senators would use this critical economic recovery proposal to enact narrowly targeted tax benefits -- risking passage and angering American taxpayers who have rightfully called for reform of such practices

“Nonetheless, action is required to stabilize our financial markets. We must begin the process of economic recovery by making credit and capital available to families and businesses of all sizes to meet their obligations and move this country forward.

“There is still more to do. We must focus on the regulation of our financial markets, strong enforcement, and sound fiscal policies in government and in the private sector that are all necessary to restore our economy to one of prosperity, opportunity and growth – not just for a few – but for all Americans.”