Tierney supports bailout package

U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney said he voted Friday in favor of the revamped $700 billion emergency economic bailout bill before Congress because it contains significant revisions from the proposal he voted against earlier in the week.The congressman was among 95 House Democrats to vote against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act on Monday, contending it contained too many compromises and did little to help middle-class Americans struggling to pay their home mortgages while giving billions of dollars to financially-foundering corporations.Even with the revisions in the latter bill, Tierney said changing his position on the bailout was not something easily decided. On Friday, 172 Democrats supported its passage. The Senate approved the legislation Wednesday.”Those who know me realize that moving to this position is not done lightly. I am in great agreement with the frustration and even anger felt by individuals and families who behaved properly and played by the rules,” Tierney said Friday. “From wide-ranging discussions with my constituents, small business owners, regional and local bankers and retirees it’s clear that we are all furious at those investment firms whose incredibly poor judgment, greed and carelessness contributed to this financial mess.”Tierney said he and others with whom the bailout was discussed “resent having to rescue them. Unfortunately, the consequences of their actions are increasingly targeted at all of us ? those with student loans, those looking to buy a car, those small businesses applying for credit to make payroll and provide services, those with pension and 401K plans and so many others.” The Salem Democrat said many of his constituents expressed concern about how the credit freeze is affecting their families.Tierney said he voted against the initial version of the bailout bill because it was flawed and did not adequately address the underlying problems within the financial system. “I thought the measure could have mandated more direct assistance and judicial relief for homeowners who find themselves in troubled mortgage situations,” he said, adding that more might have been included in the bill to “pay for” the expensive purchase of so-called “toxic assets” and better ensure citizens that their tax dollars were not at risk. “I had hoped that Congress would use the intervening days to restructure the approach.”According to Tierney, improvements were made to the bill and, more importantly, the circumstances have changed since Monday’s vote. “The state of panic in the markets compels Congress to act, to demonstrate resolve and to attempt to restore whatever confidence we can to our financial system,” he said. “Although we all know that the Senate added a number of unrelated provisions to garner new votes from former opponents, the primary consideration is about the underlying Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.”The congressman said he reluctantly voted for the revised bill, knowing the uncertainties involved, but with the belief that doing so was the best of the bad alternatives. The House vote was 263 to 171.The legislation allows U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. to initiate what surely will become the largest bailout in the nation’s history. It empowers Paulson to buy any assets from any companies at any price and to assemble a team of financial specialists to manage them.”Congress will keep fighting to implement the reforms I have been seeking. Investigative hearings on the economic crisis are already scheduled next week in the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on which I serve, and we will continue to help distressed homeowners, safeguard the taxpayer and hold accountable those responsible,” Tierney said.Like Tierney, Rep. Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, slammed the Wall Street financiers responsible for bringing the nation’s economy to its knees, but nonetheless voted for the revised bailout package. McGovern said Friday it might be therapeutic to vote against th