Why I voted against the bailout

"Letter to Editor"

10/01/2008

Dear Friends,

Yesterday, I voted against the Wall Street bailout plan. It was not a decision I took lightly.

These are very worrying times and I know that Congress must act quickly to address our financial crisis. The failure of the proposed Wall Street bailout legislation does not mark the end of this effort. We are already back negotiating for a better deal!

Now Congress has an opportunity to write a new bill that guarantees protections for taxpayers who are being asked to pay for a solution to fix a problem they did not create.

In the past week, I’ve spoken by phone with more than 100 residents of southern Minnesota, including community leaders, elected officials and small business owners, to solicit their thoughts. The overwhelming majority of people I spoke with said the same thing: It is important for Congress to act quickly, but it is more important for us to get this decision right.

The people I spoke with, and the several hundred others who called, wrote or e-mailed me, said that the original, blank check bailout proposal from President Bush was unacceptable and needed to include more safeguards for taxpayers and more help for middle class families.

And while the compromise legislation that emerged after extensive negotiations was a definite improvement, I thought it was still lacking in some important areas.

My job as the Congressman from the First District is to drive a good deal for the American taxpayers. Here’s what I’m fighting for:

First, strong protections for taxpayers, who are being asked to provide $700 billion to bailout Wall Street without any assurances that their money will ever be repaid.

Second, we need strict limits on executive compensation. The compromise plan doesn’t do enough to prevent Wall Street executives and CEOs who get tax dollars from the bailout from still receiving excessive salaries and golden parachutes when they leave their positions.

Finally, we need to address the root cause of our economic crisis, which is the tidal wave of home foreclosures that is hitting middle class America hard.

I voted against the Wall Street bailout, not because I think it’s unnecessary, but because I thought it did not go far enough in protecting Main Street as it did in helping Wall Street.

I believe Congress needs to go back to the table and come up with a better deal, one that protects taxpayers and provides real help to solve the foreclosure crisis that is hammering the middle class and hurting our economy.

I am committed to working in Congress on a recovery package that will help our economy without just giving away taxpayer money to Wall Street banks and their executives.

As that process continues, I welcome your thoughts about how we can accomplish this important work.

Very Sincerely,
Congressman Tim Walz