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Majority of Houston delegates vote against bailout
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While a majority of House representatives voted to pass a $700 billion economic bailout package Friday on Capitol Hill, the bulk of the Houston congressional delegation voted against the measure.
Five out of eight local representatives voted against the legislation, despite bipartisan appeals by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President George W. Bush. The bailout passed the House by a vote of 265-171. The president signed the legislation shortly after the vote.
House Republicans from Houston said the legislation returned by the Senate was not only four-times longer than the House bill which failed Monday, but was also chock full of tax hikes and pork-barrel projects.
Earmarks for everything from NASCAR race tracks, film and TV production and even the purchase of rum from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Rep. Ted Poe (R-2) said, amounted to “an abuse by lawmakers and a waste of American tax dollars.”
“The federal government has no business socializing the losses of Wall Street and saddling the American people with $49 billion in taxes and a barrel of pork,” Poe said.
In the absence of reforms to prevent a similar economic crisis in the future, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-10) said he couldn’t vote in good conscience for a bill that allowed taxpayers to shoulder the debt of private businesses.
“You don’t work hard to pay for the mistakes of others, but to provide for your families,” McCaul said.
Reluctantly voting as one of three Houston delegates for the bill’s passage, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-18) said her chief disappointment was the noticeable lack of provisions helping homeowners facing foreclosure. However, she voted because she believed “it is the first step to putting our country on the right track.”
“Today was a hard and difficult vote but during this time of economic crisis, I felt that it would be irresponsible not to put this plan forward,” she said.
Breaking from the Houston GOP delegation, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-8), of The Woodlands, voted for the bill, but offered the bailout was necessary to protect the financial well-being of his constituents.
“I don’t like the bill anymore than my constituents do,” Brady said, “…but…make no mistake, if these Wall Street financial companies go down our businesses and families in Texas will be pulled down with them.”
Brady was the only Houston congressman to vote in support of the bill Monday.
Despite calls from both Poe and McCaul to continue the session and address reforms to protect from another economic crisis, the Congress adjourned for election recess and will return to session in late November.
For more info: How Your Representative Voted
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