Political Quotes

“last fall, at the urging of President Bush, Treasury Secretary Paulson, and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, Congress took extraordinary action to stabilize America's financial markets and limit the scope of an economic crisis. I know that the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) was one of the most difficult votes that anyone in this Chamber had ever taken. But passing that bill was the right thing to do--and even with all of the turmoil of the past months, my mind hasn't changed. On the other hand, I don't think anyone in this Chamber is happy with TARP, either. As it has done so many times in the last 8 years, the Bush administration failed to follow congressional intent when it came to executing a law. The administration has failed to fight the wave of foreclosures at the source of this crisis, and it did too little to maximize the effectiveness of TARP funds in helping to restore our economy's flow of credit. Nor did the administration adequately track how taxpayer money was spent to ensure that banks were using it for the intended purposes. We cannot in good conscience approve another $350 billion request without confidence that those failures will be remedied. This bill strengthens accountability and oversight measures, so that we can get necessary loans flowing again to families and businesses. It requires detailed reports from recipients of TARP funds and ensures that those funds un-thaw credit.”