October 03, 2008 09:44 pm
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By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
Time was the difference between Friday’s approval of a financial bailout in the U.S. House of Representatives and Monday’s failure to approve a package, U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said Friday.
He said that, leading up to Monday’s failed vote, members didn’t even see the bill until late Sunday. Members had questions that he said were difficult to answer because of the short turnaround.
He also said the proposal was not communicated well by the administration.
“We had announced when we were going to have a vote,” Blunt added. “Never a good idea.”
After Monday’s failed vote, members saw the stock market tumble by 777 points.
“I do think it made a difference,” Blunt said of the slide, adding that members saw an example of what could happen if the problem wasn’t solved.
“I’m hopeful we begin to see the credit markets restore themselves quickly,” he said.
Blunt also said the Senate bill, approved Wednesday, included several improvements, such as increasing the federal insurance on bank deposits from $100,000 to $250,000.
Twenty-six Republicans who voted against the bill on Monday voted in favor of Friday’s bill. Blunt said several Democrats also changed their votes from “no” to “yes.”
He said the package is the correct solution to the credit crunch that was starting to affect businesses and individuals.
“This is not a government spending program, but a government investing program,” Blunt said.
Analysts inside and outside the Treasury Department would work to determine the value of financial assets before buying them, he said, and if the plan works, taxpayers will not lose money and may eventually make money.
“This is not like a lot of government spending where you spend the money and it’s gone,” Blunt said. “This is more an investment. There is no way taxpayers lose money.”
Other votes
U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof, R. Mo., the Republican nominee for Missouri governor, voted against the package.
“The bill today is still deficient in many areas,” Hulshof said in a news release. He listed its high cost and noted that it does not address the practice of short selling.
U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., voted in favor of the measure.
“The economic crisis we face is real and it must be addressed head on,” Skelton said in a news release. “Doing nothing is not an option.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., voted against the bailout on Friday, as she had Monday.
“Today’s bill has some good elements, like the expanded FDIC insurance, but it carries a staggering cost,” Boyda said in her statement.
U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., voted for plan.
“I realize that spending hard-earned tax dollars to stabilize the banking industry is not popular,” Boren said in a news release. “However, I believe the alternative, which is to do nothing, could lead to years of economic despair for our state and nation.”
Blunt’s role
U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., was the lead Republican negotiator for the bill in the House.
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