Failed by a vote of 205-228.
……At the White House, President Bush was resuming talks with his economic team, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, to determine the next steps. In a meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushenko, Bush urged both sides to get back to the drawing board.
“I was disappointed in the vote of the United State Congress on the economic rescue plan. We put forth a plan that was big because we got a big problem. I’m going to be talking to my economic advisers after my meeting here with the president. and we’ll work with members of Congress on the way forward. Our strategy is to continue to address this economic situation head on, and we’ll be working on developing a strategy that will enable us to move forward,” he said.
……The legislation had been a tough swallow for many lawmakers, who saw government coming to the rescue of an out-of-control financial market that had played fast and loose with housing loans.
……many lawmakers continued to oppose the plan for a variety of reasons, including the massive price tag that would expand the national debt, and GOP members said their constituents were calling 10-1 in opposition to the bill, which had been described as too much government intervention.
Which is precicely what caused this ‘crisis’ to begin with.
……”The crisis we are facing remains,” said White House Deputy Spokesman Tony Fratto, who added, “We’re obviously disappointed.”
Fratto said that he thinks many Americans were mistaken by believing that the bill was a “bailout of Wall Street.” Instead, he said the bill was to prevent a large economic crisis.
“Nobody wants to bail out Wall Street, and we understand Americans might be opposed to bailing out Wall Street … This is not a bailout,” he said. “We hope Americans don’t need to see real evidence of a break down in order to prevent a break down.”
Nah, it’s a bailout of the government fuckup along with the mess it created by forcing banks to give subprime loans to people who couldn’t afford them in the first place.
‘Blinky’ Pelosi’s two cents:
…..In her speech, Pelosi asked lawmakers to swallow hard and support the legislation. But she also piled on the administration.
“When was the last time someone asked you for $700 billion?” Pelosi asked in a floor speech shortly before the vote. “It is a number that is staggering, but tells us only the costs of the Bush administration’s failed economic policies — policies built on budgetary recklessness, on an anything goes mentality, with no regulation, no supervision and no discipline in the system.”
Squeeze me you selective memory dipshit, but back in 2004, the DEMOCRATS insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be continued at all cost, refusing to cooperate in regulating the train wrecks, while the Republicans insisted that the programs get reined in for the good of the economy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs
By the way:
Over the past ten years, Fannie and Freddie spent over $200 million on lobbying and campaign contributions. Democrats Chris Dodd, John Kerry, and Barack Obama — the top recipients of Fannie and Freddie largesse — have all broken the $100,000 mark. It should come as no surprise that Senate Democrats were the key obstacle to reforming Fannie and Freddie when Congress had a chance in 2005, before the mortgage crisis spiraled out of control.
Fannie and Freddie’s defenders in the House were no better. Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank maintained that Fannie and Freddie did not pose a risk to the financial system, even as they helped inflate the housing bubble by subsidizing mortgage debt. Then, when the bubble finally burst, Frank tried to loosen Fannie and Freddie’s constraints so they could reinflate it. They might have succeeded if they hadn’t collapsed, requiring a bailout from taxpayers that could cost as much as $200 billion.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDI1MzA0ZDBjODUyYTE5NTBiOWI0OGM0YTM5NWQxMmY=
The news of the failed bailout sent stocks spiraling down more than 700 points in intraday trading.
And you know what? I couldn’t give one shit less. Wall Street, Nadaq, The Dow, and every other economic trading entity will be fine. Let the world market work through this and learn from it. It’s called free market capitalism. There will not be a depression. The world will not end. The markets will rebound. Our government just needs to stop creating more welfare outlets for unqualified borrowers. Regulate the interest rates at a fair amount, and they’ll still be plenty of opportunity for prospective home owners.