PatriotLegion
10-15-2008, 03:42 PM
Here is the reply from my Congressman Tim Bishop - District 1, Long Island, New York. Not sure if its a premade script, but here it is.
October 15, 2008
Dear Mr. Patriot
Thank you for expressing your opinion regarding the emergency economic recovery legislation. It is important for me to have the benefit of your views, and I appreciate you taking the time to contact me.
Today, we face an economic crisis as serious as any that has ever faced our nation. For nearly a decade, government policies favoring deregulation allowed unregulated markets, institutions, and complicated financial instruments to undermine the historic strength of America's economy and standing in the world. The damage has now spread to global markets, threatening our businesses with limited credit, while sharply devaluing our individual savings and pensions.
My vote in favor of the economic recovery bill negotiated by House and Senate leaders with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson was a tough choice, but I believe it was the right decision for Long Islanders and America. This crisis started on Wall Street, but without decisive action, credit markets will remain frozen and middle-class families will suffer.
Tight credit markets hamper the ability of middle-class Americans to qualify for a mortgage or a basic car loan. Small businesses will not be able to make their payrolls, and credit card interest rates will soar. On Long Island, we are already seeing the credit shortage negatively affect the local construction industry, which in turn threatens jobs and other supporting businesses.
If the recovery effort was only written to protect those on Wall Street from their poor decisions, I would have voted no. I also opposed the original Paulson plan that would have given a blank check to the Bush Administration for a bailout. In contrast, the final compromise rescue plan passed by Congress contains necessary oversight, taxpayer protections, and help for struggling homeowners. The entire Long Island congressional delegation joined me in voting for the recovery bill. We chose decisive action to restore confidence in our economy. We agreed that America could not afford the cost of doing nothing and allowing our economy to suffer widespread financial failure as consequence of inaction.
The recovery bill provides strong protections for taxpayers and requires the plan to be repaid in full by the financial sector as the economy recovers. The legislation requires ongoing Congressional review and gives taxpayers a share of the profits of participating companies, or puts taxpayers first in line to recover assets if a company fails. To ensure compliance, the plan requires the President five years from now to submit a plan to ensure taxpayers are repaid in full, with Wall Street making up any difference.
The most widespread opinion in the comments I received from my constituents was to ensure that any financial rescue plan have tangible benefits for those who are in danger of losing their homes or otherwise feeling significant pain from the faltering economy. Not only is keeping "Main Street" stable the right thing to do, we cannot afford the local and national financial repercussions of more and more homes falling into foreclosure, which is predicted to rise to 2.5 million nationwide by the end of 2008.
Home prices have fallen for 18 straight months, to a level that is 17 percent below a year ago. In response, the recovery bill includes major efforts to strengthen homeownership and stem the tide of foreclosures, including property tax relief for up to 30 million homeowners. The bill also substantially expands eligibility for badly-needed mortgage refinancing under the FHA's Hope for Homeowners program. As the new owner of a stake in hundreds of thousands of mortgages, the government can now work more directly and effectively with loan servicers to make problem loans more affordable by reducing principal or interest rates, or lengthening the term to pay back the mortgage. Importantly, the bill requires the Treasury, Federal Housing Administration, Federal Reserve and FDIC to work together on loan modifications for at-risk mortgages.
The recovery bill contains four separate independent oversight entities or processes to protect the taxpayer, including a strong, bipartisan oversight board appointed by Congress and an independent Inspector General to monitor the Treasury Secretary's decisions. The required online posting of transactions will ensure transparency and jumpstart private sector demand. Finally, our judicial system will retain final review of the Treasury Secretary's actions.
Though I support the recovery bill, I am concerned with the extra spending inserted into the Senate bill eventually passed by the House. I would have preferred the initial plan considered by the House without the extra funding. However, the Senate bill also added one more year of relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax that is necessary to keep middle-class Long Islanders from facing an additional burden in tough economic times. The final bill also increases from $100,000 to $250,000 the amount of bank deposits insured by the FDIC, shoring up confidence in our banks and making it easier for Americans to save.
I share your outrage at the destructive behavior of many so-called executives on Wall Street. That is why I fully support the ongoing investigations by Congress, the Treasury Department, and other proper authorities into fraud or double-dealing that has made this crisis much worse. I strongly urged the inclusion of provisions that would prevent failed executives from receiving a "golden parachute" from the taxpayers. In fact, the recovery bill also prevents golden parachutes for CEOs who are fired or have run their company into the ground as well as recovers bonuses paid to executives who promise gains that turn out to be false or inaccurate.
I supported this legislation because it is the best way forward to put America on the path to economic recovery. However, our job is not finished. We must focus our anger and frustration at reversing the failed policies that led us into this crisis and bring the rule of law back to Wall Street. We must turn toward comprehensive and long-term regulatory overhaul of the market structure to ensure that such a fiasco never again threatens our economy.
Above all, the difficult position we find ourselves in today represents the final verdict on "hands-off" government regulation of the financial sector, as well as the discredited philosophy that great wealth concentrated at the top of the economic pyramid will somehow "trickle down" to the rest of us. The most stable structures are always built from the base up. American workers are the best in the world, and our new economy must be built by broad-based investment in education, innovation, and our national infrastructure. Americans have proven time and again that we can rise above the toughest challenges with our unbeatable determination and ingenuity. I believe that we can solve this crisis, and so I will continue to work with Republicans and Democrats to find a long-term solution that will build a more prosperous future for all Americans.
Thank you again for sharing your views. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. For more information and to find out about other important issues that I am working on in Congress, I urge you to visit my website at www.timbishop.house.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter.
Sincerely,
Timothy Bishop
Member of Congress
October 15, 2008
Dear Mr. Patriot
Thank you for expressing your opinion regarding the emergency economic recovery legislation. It is important for me to have the benefit of your views, and I appreciate you taking the time to contact me.
Today, we face an economic crisis as serious as any that has ever faced our nation. For nearly a decade, government policies favoring deregulation allowed unregulated markets, institutions, and complicated financial instruments to undermine the historic strength of America's economy and standing in the world. The damage has now spread to global markets, threatening our businesses with limited credit, while sharply devaluing our individual savings and pensions.
My vote in favor of the economic recovery bill negotiated by House and Senate leaders with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson was a tough choice, but I believe it was the right decision for Long Islanders and America. This crisis started on Wall Street, but without decisive action, credit markets will remain frozen and middle-class families will suffer.
Tight credit markets hamper the ability of middle-class Americans to qualify for a mortgage or a basic car loan. Small businesses will not be able to make their payrolls, and credit card interest rates will soar. On Long Island, we are already seeing the credit shortage negatively affect the local construction industry, which in turn threatens jobs and other supporting businesses.
If the recovery effort was only written to protect those on Wall Street from their poor decisions, I would have voted no. I also opposed the original Paulson plan that would have given a blank check to the Bush Administration for a bailout. In contrast, the final compromise rescue plan passed by Congress contains necessary oversight, taxpayer protections, and help for struggling homeowners. The entire Long Island congressional delegation joined me in voting for the recovery bill. We chose decisive action to restore confidence in our economy. We agreed that America could not afford the cost of doing nothing and allowing our economy to suffer widespread financial failure as consequence of inaction.
The recovery bill provides strong protections for taxpayers and requires the plan to be repaid in full by the financial sector as the economy recovers. The legislation requires ongoing Congressional review and gives taxpayers a share of the profits of participating companies, or puts taxpayers first in line to recover assets if a company fails. To ensure compliance, the plan requires the President five years from now to submit a plan to ensure taxpayers are repaid in full, with Wall Street making up any difference.
The most widespread opinion in the comments I received from my constituents was to ensure that any financial rescue plan have tangible benefits for those who are in danger of losing their homes or otherwise feeling significant pain from the faltering economy. Not only is keeping "Main Street" stable the right thing to do, we cannot afford the local and national financial repercussions of more and more homes falling into foreclosure, which is predicted to rise to 2.5 million nationwide by the end of 2008.
Home prices have fallen for 18 straight months, to a level that is 17 percent below a year ago. In response, the recovery bill includes major efforts to strengthen homeownership and stem the tide of foreclosures, including property tax relief for up to 30 million homeowners. The bill also substantially expands eligibility for badly-needed mortgage refinancing under the FHA's Hope for Homeowners program. As the new owner of a stake in hundreds of thousands of mortgages, the government can now work more directly and effectively with loan servicers to make problem loans more affordable by reducing principal or interest rates, or lengthening the term to pay back the mortgage. Importantly, the bill requires the Treasury, Federal Housing Administration, Federal Reserve and FDIC to work together on loan modifications for at-risk mortgages.
The recovery bill contains four separate independent oversight entities or processes to protect the taxpayer, including a strong, bipartisan oversight board appointed by Congress and an independent Inspector General to monitor the Treasury Secretary's decisions. The required online posting of transactions will ensure transparency and jumpstart private sector demand. Finally, our judicial system will retain final review of the Treasury Secretary's actions.
Though I support the recovery bill, I am concerned with the extra spending inserted into the Senate bill eventually passed by the House. I would have preferred the initial plan considered by the House without the extra funding. However, the Senate bill also added one more year of relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax that is necessary to keep middle-class Long Islanders from facing an additional burden in tough economic times. The final bill also increases from $100,000 to $250,000 the amount of bank deposits insured by the FDIC, shoring up confidence in our banks and making it easier for Americans to save.
I share your outrage at the destructive behavior of many so-called executives on Wall Street. That is why I fully support the ongoing investigations by Congress, the Treasury Department, and other proper authorities into fraud or double-dealing that has made this crisis much worse. I strongly urged the inclusion of provisions that would prevent failed executives from receiving a "golden parachute" from the taxpayers. In fact, the recovery bill also prevents golden parachutes for CEOs who are fired or have run their company into the ground as well as recovers bonuses paid to executives who promise gains that turn out to be false or inaccurate.
I supported this legislation because it is the best way forward to put America on the path to economic recovery. However, our job is not finished. We must focus our anger and frustration at reversing the failed policies that led us into this crisis and bring the rule of law back to Wall Street. We must turn toward comprehensive and long-term regulatory overhaul of the market structure to ensure that such a fiasco never again threatens our economy.
Above all, the difficult position we find ourselves in today represents the final verdict on "hands-off" government regulation of the financial sector, as well as the discredited philosophy that great wealth concentrated at the top of the economic pyramid will somehow "trickle down" to the rest of us. The most stable structures are always built from the base up. American workers are the best in the world, and our new economy must be built by broad-based investment in education, innovation, and our national infrastructure. Americans have proven time and again that we can rise above the toughest challenges with our unbeatable determination and ingenuity. I believe that we can solve this crisis, and so I will continue to work with Republicans and Democrats to find a long-term solution that will build a more prosperous future for all Americans.
Thank you again for sharing your views. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. For more information and to find out about other important issues that I am working on in Congress, I urge you to visit my website at www.timbishop.house.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter.
Sincerely,
Timothy Bishop
Member of Congress