U.S. Senator Jim Bunning today issued the following statement in opposition to the Bailout Bill that is expected to be voted on by the Senate tonight.
"Since Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson first came to Congress with this plan I have opposed it," said Bunning. "And while some of the language and the length of this bill may have changed in the last week, it is still the same old bailout for Wall Street with a few extra sweeteners intended to buy off votes. In the end, this bill still puts the taxpayers on the hook for Wall Street’s losses and takes America’s free market system down the path towards socialism. I cannot and will not support that.
"There is no question that America is currently facing a very serious financial challenge and I am just as concerned about what is going on in the economy as everyone else. There are extreme tensions in the financial markets right now, which have only been made worse by the rhetoric of the Treasury Secretary and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. We all know that those problems could soon have an impact on businesses and individuals who had nothing to do with the mortgage mess. But I do not believe that this bailout bill is the solution. This is a short-term fix that does nothing to address what is really a long-term problem.
"If Secretary Paulson pays a high enough price for the bad assets he wants to buy, the bill could help Wall Street's balance sheet look better. But nowhere does the bill require that new-found money be lent to anyone on Main Street, and I doubt it will happen. There are other options that I could support, but unfortunately those are not before the Senate today.
"I am also disappointed that the bill being used as the base vehicle to move this ridiculous bailout through Congress is the Mental Health Parity Act. This is legislation I support, co-sponsored, and under normal circumstances would vote for. Also included in the bailout package are the tax extenders provisions that I voted for last week when the extenders bill was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate.
"The extenders package includes the very important extension of the AMT patch that will prevent a substantial tax increase on more than 20 million individuals and families, as well as more than 40 individual and business tax provisions that will benefit nearly every American taxpayer. There are also important tax incentives for renewable fuels such as a provision I negotiated that will extend the 50 cent alternative fuel credit for clean coal. For the first time a clean alternative fuel derived from coal that meets the Department of Defense’s specifications for jet fuel will be able to qualify for a 50 cent credit. At a time of war, it is imperative that we do all that we can to ensure our Defense Department has a secure domestic fuel supply. Our clean coal credit helps support this while providing the Pentagon with a clean burning, low emissions alternative fuel."
