Statements from Oklahoma House Members on the Bail-Out Vote
Here are the statements released today by the Oklahoma U.S. House members after the vote on the $700 billion bail-out package:
Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, who voted against it:
“Like all Americans, I am extremely concerned with the present state of the economy. I believe government action is needed to stabilize the financial sector and to protect the economic security of our families and businesses. Today’s bill, however, puts the interests of Wall Street above that of Main Street and rewards bad behavior at taxpayer expense. While I remain optimistic about achieving a legislative agreement in the future, I cannot support the legislation before us today for three fundamental reasons.
“First, it represents a violation of a basic American principle to expect taxpayers – who are not at fault in this crisis – to underwrite the rescue of those who are. A combination of bad lending policies at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, poor oversight of those agencies, equally bad practices on Wall Street and in the financial markets and, in some cases, simple irresponsible greed, caused this mess. It is simply wrong to expect the hard working American taxpayer to pay for it.
“Second, I was elected to work and speak and vote for the people of the Fifth District of Oklahoma. I cannot tell my constituents in good conscience that the plan we saw today, a massively funded and lightly regulated government intrusion into private finance, is going to benefit the people who put me in office and who I am proud to represent.
“Third, this does not need to be the end of the process. We can shore up our financial markets and protect the investments of our citizens while providing a much greater degree of accountability and transparency. I have been working with my colleagues in the House to develop such alternative solutions, and I remain optimistic that a final legislative agreement will be much stronger than the one we saw today. “I am ready to do what it takes to pass a workable economic recovery plan that protects the savings, retirement and economic security of American taxpayers. I cannot, however, support a ‘bailout’ that takes $700 billion away from Main Street in a bid to protect Wall Street from the consequences of reckless decisions and a culture of greed. Nor will I write a blank check and simply hope that throwing money at our current problems will make them go away.”
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, who voted for the package:
“I am disappointed Congress couldn’t come together and pass this bipartisan compromise given the serious economic challenges we face. The fact that the current President and both our major party presidential nominees were in favor of this legislation indicates the gravity of the situation ahead of us. In my opinion gridlock and inaction were not legitimate options.”
“Our nation is facing the most challenging economic times since the Great Depression. In recent days we have seen some of America’s largest and most storied financial institutions fail. And while the problems may have originated on Wall Street, the devastating impacts of these problems are beginning to be felt on Main Street.”
“Personally, this is the toughest vote that I have ever cast, but I am convinced that it was the right thing to do for America and for the people I’m privileged to represent. I did not live through the Great Depression, but my parents and grandparents did. And, having lived through the tough times of the 1980s, sparked by bank failures and a real estate bust, I want to do all I can to see that our own children are spared such trials and hardships. I believe history will show that support for this bipartisan compromise was a tough vote, but the right vote.”
Rep. John Sullivan, R-Tulsa, who voted against it:
“As I said from day one, given the seriousness of the situation we currently face, I am willing to support government intervention so long as the interests of the taxpayers are completely protected. Voting no was the only way for me to register the concerns of First District residents that this plan is not the right deal for American taxpayers. Congress rightfully voted down this bill indicating that we will go back to the drawing board to develop the right solution for our economy and American taxpayers.” “While I voted against this bill, our efforts over the past week resulted in significant improvements from the original Paulson plan – which I found unacceptable. I am encouraged that my colleagues and I can work in a bipartisan fashion to explore alternative ideas, gather more information and ultimately provide the best deal possible for taxpayers.”
Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, who voted against it:
“I am concerned about the current state of our financial system. However, the constituents of the Third Congressional District spoke loud and clear over the last week in opposition to the proposed rescue plan, and I am here to represent their voice in Congress. I await the development of other proposasl to address the crisis our financial markets are facing.”
Voting on the Bail-Out
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, made it clear that he wasn’t criticizing anybody for voting against the massive rescue plan defeated by the House a few hours ago.
But, he said, “The easy vote was a ‘no’ vote. Politically, that was the easy vote. But we still have to get something done.”
Cole was one of two Oklahoma House members to vote for the package. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, was the other.
Cole attributed the vote to a few factors:
_ “The whole thing happened too fast,” he said. The Bush administration came to Capitol Hill less than two weeks ago with a huge proposal just as lawmakers were prepared to head home for the elections and wanted something done quickly. “You need a longer legislative process” for something of that magnitude, he said.
_ Large segments of both parties were philosophically opposed. Liberal Democrats wanted more for housing groups and people facing foreclosure and conservative Republicans didn’t want to interfere with the free market.
_ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi angered some Republicans with anti-Bush comments during her speech today on the House floor in favor of the bail-out.
Cole said the bill should have started in the Senate, which was much more likely to approve the package. That would given the bill some momentum, he said, while also giving House members longer to absorb it.
Boren said he was surprised when the vote started tilting against the package.
“Normally, when there’s a big vote like this, vote counters have a good grasp” of what’s going to happen, Boren said.
Trying to change votes on the House floor while the vote was still open just wasn’t working, Boren said, because there were too many votes to change. The final vote was 205 to 228.
Like Cole, Boren also attributed the defeat in part to the timeline.
“I just think it was thrown at members in such a short amount of time,” he said.
Like members from all over the country, the Oklahomans were hearing from their constitutents last week, and most of those who called or e-mailed were against the proposal.
And Reps. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City; Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne; and John Sullivan, R-Tulsa, said today that they were trying to reflect the feelings of their constituents.
None of the three who voted against the plan ruled out voting for a revised one.
Lucas last week predicted that the stock market _ which dropped nearly 800 points after the House vote today _ might have to drop a couple of thousand points before a package was ultimately passed. Though a lot of people probably thought the compromise plan that went to the floor today would secure enough votes, Lucas may turn out to be right.
Who the heck is Tom Coburn?
That must be what millions of Americans (many of whom can’t name their own senators, much less one from Oklahoma) were wondering last night after both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama mentioned him during the first presidential debate in Mississippi (in Oxford Town, as Bob Dylan referred to it many decades ago).
Maybe the two candidates had Coburn on the brain, since the Muskogee Republican called them both on Tuesday night to urge them to show some leadership and issue a joint statement on the nation’s financial crisis.
McCain, R-Arizona, brought him up first, during the portion of the debate on economic issues:
“Well, the first thing we have to do is get spending under control in Washington. It’s completely out of control. It’s gone _ we have now presided over the largest increase in the size of government since the Great Society.
“We Repubicans came to power to change government, and government changed us. And the worst sympton of this disease is what my friend Tom Coburn calls earmarking as a gateway drug becauses it’s a gateway to out-of-control spending and corruption.”
Just a few minutes later, Obama cited his work with the legendary Okie from Muskogee:
“John mentioned me being wildly liberal. Mostly that’s just me opposing George Bush’s wrong-headed policies since I’ve been in Congress. But I think it is also important to recognize I work with Tom Coburn, the most conservative, one of the most conservative Republicans who John already mentioned to set up what we call a ‘Google for Government,’ saying we’ll list every dollar of federal spending to make sure that the taxpayer can take a look and see who, in fact, is promoting some of these spending projects that John’s been railing about.”
Coburn is, of course, backing McCain. He came out for him during primary season, helping with the social conservatives that have long been suspicious of McCain.
But Coburn hasn’t been negative about Obama, whom he befriended shortly after the two men were elected to the Senate in 2004. Besides the Google for Government bill, the two also worked on legislation to prevent taxpayer rip-offs by private contractors getting federal money after Hurricane Katrina.
First Debate Tonight
Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama square off at 8 p.m. central tonight for the first of three presidential debates, this one focusing on foreign affairs and national security, though it’s hard to imagine that the financial crisis won’t get at least some attention.
The vice presidential debate between Democratic Sen. Joe Biden and Republican Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska is scheduled for Thursday.
Election day, Nov. 4, draws near.
Coburn Rejects Rice’s Praise
State Sen. Andrew Rice, the Oklahoma City Democrat who is running against Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, has been criticizing Inhofe this week for opposing the financial rescue plan put forward by the Bush administration.
In one statement, Rice said, ” “Two days ago I called a press conference on this crisis and recognized Senator (Tom) Coburn for saying, ‘Congress has known about these problems for years, but did nothing because [they] were so obsessed with short-term politics … to do the hard work of oversight and reform that was necessary to avert this mess.’”
“I couldn’t agree with Senator Coburn more, and I commend him for his leadership in working to find a bipartisan solution to this crisis.”
On Friday, Coburn, R-Muskogee, released a statement through an arm of the Oklahoma Republican Party, that was much less friendly toward Rice.
“Andrew Rice has neither the experience nor the ideas to address our nation’s financial crisis,” Coburn said in the statement. “Nor does he have any basis for associating his liberal agenda with my record of limiting the growth of government. His attempt to associate his agenda with mine in the context of a partisan attack against Jim Inhofe is personally offensive to me and an affront to Oklahoma voters.”
Coburn, in fact, took the same position on Inhofe _ and many lawmakers of both parties _ on the Bush administration’s original proposal: It wasn’t going to fly.
It remains to be seen whether either of the Oklahoma senators, or any of the Oklahoma House members, will vote for whatever bill emerges from intense negotiations going on right now.
Coburn Leaning Toward Bail-Out?
He didn’t come out and say it, but Sen. Tom Coburn definitely sounded like he’s ready to support some type of intervention to keep the nation’s financial system stable.
Just minutes ago, Coburn, R-Muskogee, perhaps the most fiscally conservative member of Congress, said in a speech on the Senate floor, “We’ve got to do what’s right … and we should not leave here until this is solved.”
He said he had never seen economic turmoil of this magnitude in his life.
“Very few people have seen the kind of risk this country is at,” he said.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, came out Tuesday against the plan as offered by the Bush administration.
Again, Coburn didn’t say he was for or against any elements of the government intervention being pondered, but he gave what his colleagues termed a “statesman-like” speech on the matter.
UPDATE: Sen. Barack Obama just said at a news conference that Coburn had called him to urge him to make a joint statement with Sen. John McCain about the need for a bipartisan solution to the nation’s financial mess.
T. Boone’s Missing Microphone
T. Boone Pickens told a pretty funny story yesterday at the National Press Club about a previous appearance in which he had some sound problems. Warning: There’s a bit of colorful language at the end.
“I spoke at Midland, Texas. And it was a big audience there. It was about 3,000 people. And I was sitting and I had the person that was interviewing me; it was a conversation type, you know, format. And I talked for about ten minutes.
“And Jay came up to the front and he said, ‘Boone, there’s something wrong with your microphone. They can’t hear you.’
“And I said, ‘Well, first thing is, I don’t have a microphone.’ And so I started looking. And I was sitting on it. And so when they rigged me up, I said, ‘Well, you can say that for the first ten minutes, he talked out of his ass.’
Lucas On the Financial Crisis
Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, is a long-time member of the House Financial Services Committee, which will be one of the panels crafting the massive bail-out proposed by the treasury secretary and Federal Reserve chairman to deal with the nation’s financial crisis.
On Thursday, Lucas appeared on C-SPAN to discuss the situation and you can watch that here. Today, Lucas is scheduled to appear on FOX Business as a guest of Cavuto. The show starts at 5 p.m. central time; Lucas is scheduled to appear around 5:15.
Government Like a Business
Reuters Photo
Anyone who wasn’t worried about the whole financial mess before Thursday night had to have gotten at least a little nervous after seeing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s face in this picture.
This was taken at the Capitol after a meeting that Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke held with congressional leaders, and Pelosi, D-Calif., looks like she’s in shock.
Paulson and Bernanke were apparently warning of a fiscal apocalypse that could only be averted by massive government intervention.
Which reminded me that when I first started covering politics in the mid-1980s, a lot of candidates in Oklahoma used to say that they wanted to see government run like a business.
Sounds a bit quaint now.
“Why Do We Have This Today Happening?”
The House began debating Democratic energy legislation this morning and — news flash — it’s not going to be bipartisan. Rep. Mary Fallin’s comments early today made that clear from the outset:
In fact, House Republican Leader John Boehner, of Ohio, yelled on the House floor that the bill “won’t do a damn thing.”
But Rep. Dan Boren, a conservative, pro-drilling Democrat from Muskogee, is expected to vote for the bill, according to his spokesman. Boren is expected to be the only one of the five U.S. House members from the state to support the legislation. Boren is a member of the conservative Blue Dog group that Fallin mentioned in her remarks.
At this point, it looks like the final vote will be some time after 8 p.m. eastern time.
