Shelby against bailout, Rogers votes "yea" with reservations
Wayne Ruple
10-06-2008
Alabama’s (R) U.S. Senator Richard Shelby has gone on the record saying he opposes a proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street’s financial markets while U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers voted for the failed House bill. In a statement this week Rogers said, “I made a vote of conscience today to help protect east Alabama’s main street – our jobs, our home values, and our economy. It was an imperfect bill, but I believed it was the right thing to do despite my serious reservations about it. I can only hope my concerns about serious economic peril will be proven wrong, and hope Congress will soon return to work to create another bipartisan solution to address our economic challenges.” He added, “Such a bill should work in tandem with the separate economic stimulus legislation I supported this week, which would provide important economic benefits for everyday Americans like an extension of unemployment insurance and additional funding for Medicaid.” And while media and the public’s attention was focused on the Wall Street bailout, the U.S. Senate approved a $25 billion bailout for the auto industry on Saturday.. That bailout awaits the President’s signature. Shelby’s office released the following statement concerning that bailout. “Shelby voted against the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009, because it provides Detroit-based automobile manufacturers with an unnecessary and economically harmful $25 billion bailout. The Senate approved this legislation by a vote of 78-12 and it will now go to the President for his signature. “Since I was first elected to Congress, I have believed that my most important duty is to the taxpayer,” said Shelby. “I do not support using taxpayer dollars to save private companies. This is not a national problem, it’s their problem. Although the bailout was attached to legislation containing billions of dollars for projects I personally fought for, I could not support this gross misuse of American taxpayers’ hard-earned money. “My record is very clear on taxpayer funded bailouts. I have long opposed government bailouts for individuals and corporate America alike. . . However, if the government is going to get into the bailout business, shouldn’t we also be focusing our resources on average Americans, rather than sophisticated and well-compensated bankers? The Treasury’s plan has little for those outside of the financial industry. It is aimed at rescuing the same financial institutions that created this crisis.” The bailout is more than enough to give every person on earth a $100 bill.
About Wayne Ruple
Cleburne News editor Wayne Ruple is a native of Ashville. Before coming to Heflin, he worked for three years as a computer systems manager in Birmingham. Ruple has worked for The Sand Mountain Reporter in Albertville, and was the editor of The Independent in Robertsdale. He has also worked for the Shades Valley Sun, the St. Clair News-Aegis and The Daily Home in Talladega.
