Sep 29, 2008 10:46 pm US/Central
Why MN Lawmakers Voted The Way They Did On Bailout
(WCCO)
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The U.S. Capitol on Sept. 28, 2008, in Washington, D.C.
Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images
By a vote of 228 to 205, the bailout bill was defeated on Monday despite a last ditch lobbying effort in favor of the bill from the White House and House leaders.
Minnesota's Representatives were split on their votes. Republicans Michele Bachmann and Jim Ramstad both voted against the bailout, as well as Democrats Tim Walz and Colin Peterson.
On the flip side, Democrats Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison and James Oberstar along with Republican John Kline voted for the bailout.
President Bush said he was "very disappointed" with the vote and is now meeting with his team to look at how they can move forward. Meanwhile, the House said it will reconvene on Thursday.
Minnesota representatives in Washington are saying this is one of those votes in Congress the public paid attention to, and will remember. Whether they voted yes or no, Minnesota members of Congress all said they expect a dangerous financial crisis to hit soon.
Even before the bailout failed, Wall Street stocks teetered, and then plummeted. And in the U.S. House, broadcast on C-SPAN, there was an unexpected stunning defeat of the bailout bill.
The rescue package was deeply unpopular among Republicans and Democrats. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann voted no, saying she was distrustful of such a massive government intervention and worried that taxpayers will pick up the tab.
"Let's embrace a practical solution before we tie a $700 billion bailout around the necks of the American people," Bachmann said on the House floor.
Congressman Keith Ellison voted yes, saying passing the rescue package will have devastating impact on jobs.
"Some folks act like they need to see more pain before they're willing to act. I mean what are they looking for? Eight percent unemployment? Nine percent? We're already up to 6.2 percent," he said.
The vote was bipartisan with Republican John Kline voting yes. He's worried the financial crisis will hit Minnesota main street businesses soon.
"It was not where I wanted that bill to be, believe me. It's far from a perfect bill. But I became convinced that the crisis is looming and I feared we could not get a better bill," Kline said.
The bailout did not include direct help for homeowners caught in the squeeze of foreclosures. That's why Minnesota Democrat Tim Walz said he voted no.
"And I don't believe enough was done to address the root cause of this. And that's of course the foreclosures and the pending foreclosures on these assets that are still out there," Walz said.
Some analysts blame the White House for a poor sales job saying that some members of Congress and the public were convinced that this was a bail out for Wall Street and it wouldn't help Main Street.
They now predict that with the fall of the stock market on Monday, opinions of voters may change.
"I think a lot of people who are calling in to the congressional offices saying 'Don't do the deal, this is a bailout for Wall Street' are now saying, 'Wait a minutes, this is now affecting my own personal 401(k),'" said Professor David Vang of the University of St. Thomas.
And that may be enough to convince some members of Congress to change their vote if the bill comes up again.
Despite warnings from the president of a dangerous economic situation, there will not be another vote on a rescue plan until Thursday, at the earliest.
While the $700 billion plan was proposed by President Bush, most Republicans voted against it because members of Congress have been getting a record number of e-mails, calls and letters from the people back home who overwhelmingly oppose it.
The president is still asking Congress to approve the plan. And don't underestimate the effect of the election, which is 36 days from now, with constituents opposing it is a big political risk to vote for it.
Here are some more quotes from Minnesotans in Congress:
"If markets feel that the Congress is going to abandon this initiative, then they will indeed lose confidence and we will see a very precipitous drop of investor confidence and adverse effect on the domestic and international markets. ... For my part, I felt that passage of this legislation was essential to prevent the adverse consequences." -- Oberstar, of the 8th Congressional District.
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"As we can see from the precipitous decline in the markets, this crisis has not dissipated. I urge my colleagues not to allow discussions to devolve into partisan bickering. We must not act in a way that exacerbates the problem. As we now resume negotiations, I am hopeful that we can put aside our differences and work together to shield Americans from further harm caused by Wall Street and Washington." -- Kline, of the 2nd Congressional District.
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"I wish it wasn't needed, but this legislation is about saving our nation's economy and starting a new era of responsible government regulation in the marketplace to protect working families from greed, corruption, and abuses."-- McCollum, of the 4th Congressional District.
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"My job is to protect the American taxpayer and this plan doesn't go far enough in looking out for the middle class. It doesn't go far enough in holding Wall Street accountable. If Wall Street is going to get our money, we need to have some protections in place, and this plan doesn't go far enough." -- Walz, of the 1st Congressional District.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)