Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) commented today on the House of Representatives vote against the $700 billion proposal aimed at stabilizing the nation’s rocky financial markets:
“Today’s vote in the House shows that there is clearly more work to be done before there is an agreement that can calm the turmoil in the financial markets. I hope the House will quickly reach an agreement that can pass – and that will address the worries voiced by thousands of Rhode Islanders in the past week.
“We won significant improvements to the Bush Administration’s original proposal: the Treasury Department plan did nothing to directly help homeowners trapped in upside-down or subprime mortgages; it did not take sufficient steps to protect taxpayers against what could be a massive loss; it gave too much unbridled authority to Secretary Paulson; and it did not provide for any investigation to determine what went wrong. Whatever form a legislative solution to this crisis ultimately takes, it must address those questions.”
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