(WASHINGTON, DC) – The House of Representatives today defeated a bill to give $700 billion to the same Wall Street bankers and investors who caused our financial meltdown. Even though the bill we voted on today was very different from the bailout plan pushed by the Bush Administration, it still relied on public funds to save Wall Street from its own greed and bad decisions, with very little in the way of accountability or oversight. I had serious questions about the wisdom and necessity. I voted no.
We were given virtually no time for debate, discussion or consultation with our constituents — the people who would have picked up the tab for this fiscal frenzy— about the single most consequential policy and spending decision in decades. I was able to use my Congressional web site as an information resource for Hawaii, posting summaries of the various plans, comments and news coverage. And, I asked for their opinion on the bailout. Over the last five days, nearly 1,500 people called, faxed or emailed my offices in Honolulu and Washington, DC. Eleven of those expressed support for the bailout plan. I am grateful to all those who took the trouble to share their views with me.
My constituents and I reached the same conclusion: we need to put the mortgage holders and taxpayers first.
