On the recordJuly 21, 2010
I am sure some people will give us the details about what they believe the terms of the deal for Wall Street were. But it is safe to say there was no specific date that Wall Street had to pay back the money. No one ever asked them if they would be viable with or without the money. They were--in the blink of an eye, in some cases-- given access to Treasury funds. This is a program that has been done in a transparent process, with the input of lots of Members, input from both bodies, discussed by the Treasury Secretary in many public forums. It was in the President's State of the Union Address as a priority to get access to capital, the requirements and specificity of banks that want to apply. This isn't picking winners and losers such as what was done in the haste of October, 2 years ago. This is about a bill that is an open process for banks that want to participate. These are the terms the Federal Government is setting up for participation, a very open and transparent process. The main difference is one was a bailout, and this is a lending program. I want to know why my colleagues don't support it, if they don't, because I think America supports making sure there is access to capital. They want to know why is it that the CEO of an AIG or another company can get access to all the capital they need from the Federal Government, but when it comes to a small business, they can't go to their community banks and get access to capital at this critical moment.
