Blog - Bailout Fails 
Bailout Fails
September 29, 2008 - by Donny Shaw
Here’s the bailout bill on OpenCongress:
H.R.3997 – Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
In a shocking turn of events, the bailout was just rejected by the House of Representatives today by a vote of 205 – 228 against. House Democrats voted 141 to 94 in favor of the plan. Republicans voted 65 to 133 against. The full roll call vote can be viewed here.
Accordingly, the Dow has plunged about 700 points as the House vote was held open for 30 minutes. As the vote was gaveled closed, the Dow was down 525.
At this point nobody really knows what comes next. Lawmakers’ offices were flooded today with record numbers of phone calls form constituents, all vehemently against the bailout. People are struggling and they just don’t want to pay to bailout Wall Street.
Last week, Congress rejected an economic stimulus bill that would have provided extended unemployment benefits for state with exceptionally high unemployment rates, an increase in food stamps benefits, job creation through infrastructure investment and much more. In light of that failure, it’s not all that surprising that people are up in arms over being asked to put their tax money up to bailout Wall Street.
It’s going to be tough to alter this bill in a way that helps it win the votes it would need to pass. The current bill is a balanced, bipartisan compromise on a bailout, but the core idea just isn’t popular enough to get through Congress right now. Any adjustment to the bill is likely to lose as much support from one side of the aisle as it is to gain from the other. We’ll be watching to see if a plunging stock market and mass citizen outrage changes things.
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Don't you love the title? Talk about misleading!
BILL TITLE: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide earnings assistance and tax relief to members of the uniformed services, volunteer firefighters, and Peace Corps volunteers, and for other purposes
A real eye opener to me when looking at past voting records to decide my vote. Who knows whats in those old bills unless you read every line yourself. I'm very glad for site like this one and http://www.publicmarkup.org/
I am in favor of it. The bill should be passed. This is the great decision made by Congress up to now. Last time, congress rejected economic stimulus bill which great unemployment.
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Jack Steven
<a href="http://www.crystalrecovery.com">Crystal Meth Addiction</a>
I am in favor of it. The bill should be passed. This is the great decision made by Congress up to now. Last time, congress rejected economic stimulus bill which great unemployment.
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Jack Steven
<a href="http://www.crystalrecovery.com"> Crystal Meth Addiction</a>
This is like standing on the Vegas Strip with bullhorn announcing that you're here with cash for anyone on a losing streak. It's just plain crazy.
Congress should immediately reinstate banking regulations and actively bring those who committed fraud to justice, not give the gamblers money!
They are no more likely to do this than Bush or Henry Paulson, who was the CEO of Goldman Sachs, for the same reason -- the money they get from the very business that would receive our billions and billions of dollars.
This is the first time in a long time I have felt that congress made the right decision.
YEAH! this bill should not be passed at all! Let the market fix itself and lets reinstitue the glass-steagall safeguards based on the lessons learned in 1933! The financial instutions of the USA are not to be trusted to be safe without the 1933 safe guards. They were repealed in 1999. It only took 9 years to recreate the same problems of the last depression.