Failed Bailout, What Next
September 30th, 2008 | by Marina |With the rejection of the $700 billion bailout bill for troubled financial institutions from the House of Representatives, all are looking forward for the next possible step that can be taken by the U.S. Treasury Department to sort this financial crisis.
Here is an article excerpt from Reuters on the possible fates for the plan:
- Senate leaders who back the plan could begin to debate it when they reconvene Wednesday and so give the House a nudge before its members return to Washington Thursday.
- Lawmakers could scrap the rescue plan hatched by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in favor of a bill more acceptable to Republicans, but that is seen as unlikely.
- Treasury could tweak the existing plan to draw in more lawmakers from one of the parties. Because bipartisan backing is sought, that would mean aiming for Republicans.
- Proponents of the plan will aim to sway moderate Republicans who might flip after winning minor concessions in the legislation.
- Targets might be Rep. Judy Biggert of Illinois and Rep. Steven LaTourette of Ohio, both members of the House Financial Services Committee who may be feeling pressure from Wall Street.
- Republican Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and his brother Mario Diaz-Balart might be under pressure as they represent South Florida which has been badly hit by the housing downturn.
- Republicans in California and the Southwest could feel pressure to back the government aid plan since their constituents are facing a downturn in the housing market.
(Source: Reuters)
2 Responses to “Failed Bailout, What Next”
By markg8 on Sep 30, 2008 | Reply
The insurance plan Judy Biggert talks about is a joke. Impractical if not impossible to administer it wouldn’t work.
She’s been all over the map on her excuses for inaction. Last week she said the taxpayers getting anything back and limiting CEO pay sounded like “socialism” to her.
She said on the radio yesterday she voted against the bill because she wanted FBI investigations of mortgage fraud “beefed” up. This is after she said earlier that it was no time to point fingers.
Who does she want the FBI to point fingers at? One of the “culprits” Republicans are trying to finger is minority home ownership that expanded under the Community Reinvestment Act. She was all for Bush’s “ownership society” before she was against it. The fact is the CRA only covers regulated banks, not mortgage brokers and companies she fought against regulating from her seat on the Financial Services Committee. Those are the sleazeballs who wrote most of the “liar loans”.
In any case the Bush Administration loosened the CRA regulations with the approval of Republicans like Biggert back in 2001.
Look for Bush’s Dept. of Justice to go after some hapless single black mothers in the suburbs before the election who are trapped in houses going to foreclosure because their mortgage brokers told them a few years ago they could refinance before the ARM kicked in and get into 30 year fixed mortgages with payments they could afford for the long haul.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find Biggert’s staff hard at work helping to locate just such “wanton criminals”.