Kerry on the bailout
Oct. 29th, 2008 03:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
progSen. Kerry's is the first (and so far only) lawmaker's office to send me a response to my grumbling letters about the bank bailout. It came via email, so here is a copy of the text. The narrow formatting is [sic].
Dear Mr. McIntsoh:
Thank you for writing to express your views
on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.
I appreciate hearing from you on this
important issue.
This is a volatile time for our financial
system and our broader economy. Our nation
is facing its greatest economic crisis since
the Great Depression. A series of financial
institution failures and frozen credit
markets have imperiled our economy. I
believe the federal government needed to take
immediate action to restore confidence in our
economy and to stabilize our financial
system. I am pleased the Congress came
together across party lines in October and
acted to help restore strength and stability
to America's economy by enacting the
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
(EESA).
The EESA provided $700 billion to the
Secretary of the Treasury to provide capital
and purchase assets from financial
institutions. I believe this will help
restore confidence in our capital markets and
our financial institutions. It will help our
nation avert more serious economic
dislocation that could be the cost of
inaction.
This legislation is not a bailout for Wall
Street. It was developed to stop the ripple
effect of the collapse of Wall Street's major
financial institutions from developing into
an economic tsunami sweeping across the
country. It is an effort to protect
businesses and families from a serious credit
crunch. The stark reality we face is that
without federal assistance, our financial
system could collapse. Small businesses
would be unable to obtain financing and jobs
would vanish. Families would be unable to
borrow for new homes or to send their
children to college. Retirement funds could
plummet. Those are the stakes.
I supported this legislation because it
requires the Treasury to help families whose
mortgages were purchased under the program to
keep their homes; it expands federal
assistance to families facing foreclosure;
and it includes strong independent and
Congressional oversight, establishes a
special Inspector General, and allows
judicial review of the program. The bill
also requires companies that take advantage
of this program to provide warrants so
taxpayers will benefit from any future growth
of these companies. Finally, it includes
important limitations on executive
compensation for companies participating in
the program.
I want you to know that I have also been
working in the Senate to get at the root of
our economic problems by helping to ease the
foreclosure crisis and increase access to
capital for small businesses. I'm pleased
that I was able to include provisions in the
Housing and Economic Recovery Act (P.L. 110-
289) that will help limit foreclosures by
providing additional mortgage credit;
increase protections from foreclosure for our
veterans; provide additional funding for the
Community Development Block Grant program;
and create construction jobs and produce
affordable housing by establishing the
National Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
A recent federal survey reports that more
than 65 percent of banks have significantly
tightened their lending standards for small
businesses. As Chairman of the Senate Small
Business Committee, I have held five hearings
about the credit crunch and the Small
Business Administration's lending programs
over the past two years. I introduced
legislation to temporarily eliminate fees and
double the loan limits for many Small
Business Administration loan programs. This
will help stimulate economic growth and job
creation by increasing access to capital for
small business.
The actions taken by the Congress are
critical to help address the economic crisis.
However, it seems likely that additional
measures will be necessary in the future.
Please be assured that I will keep your views
in mind as I continue to work in Congress to
protect our vital national interest in the
continued health of our economy and the well
being of the American people.
Thank you for your correspondence on this
important matter. Please don't hesitate to
contact me again on this or any other issue
of concern to you.
Sincerely,
John F. Kerry
United States Senator
Dear Mr. McIntsoh:
Thank you for writing to express your views
on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.
I appreciate hearing from you on this
important issue.
This is a volatile time for our financial
system and our broader economy. Our nation
is facing its greatest economic crisis since
the Great Depression. A series of financial
institution failures and frozen credit
markets have imperiled our economy. I
believe the federal government needed to take
immediate action to restore confidence in our
economy and to stabilize our financial
system. I am pleased the Congress came
together across party lines in October and
acted to help restore strength and stability
to America's economy by enacting the
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
(EESA).
The EESA provided $700 billion to the
Secretary of the Treasury to provide capital
and purchase assets from financial
institutions. I believe this will help
restore confidence in our capital markets and
our financial institutions. It will help our
nation avert more serious economic
dislocation that could be the cost of
inaction.
This legislation is not a bailout for Wall
Street. It was developed to stop the ripple
effect of the collapse of Wall Street's major
financial institutions from developing into
an economic tsunami sweeping across the
country. It is an effort to protect
businesses and families from a serious credit
crunch. The stark reality we face is that
without federal assistance, our financial
system could collapse. Small businesses
would be unable to obtain financing and jobs
would vanish. Families would be unable to
borrow for new homes or to send their
children to college. Retirement funds could
plummet. Those are the stakes.
I supported this legislation because it
requires the Treasury to help families whose
mortgages were purchased under the program to
keep their homes; it expands federal
assistance to families facing foreclosure;
and it includes strong independent and
Congressional oversight, establishes a
special Inspector General, and allows
judicial review of the program. The bill
also requires companies that take advantage
of this program to provide warrants so
taxpayers will benefit from any future growth
of these companies. Finally, it includes
important limitations on executive
compensation for companies participating in
the program.
I want you to know that I have also been
working in the Senate to get at the root of
our economic problems by helping to ease the
foreclosure crisis and increase access to
capital for small businesses. I'm pleased
that I was able to include provisions in the
Housing and Economic Recovery Act (P.L. 110-
289) that will help limit foreclosures by
providing additional mortgage credit;
increase protections from foreclosure for our
veterans; provide additional funding for the
Community Development Block Grant program;
and create construction jobs and produce
affordable housing by establishing the
National Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
A recent federal survey reports that more
than 65 percent of banks have significantly
tightened their lending standards for small
businesses. As Chairman of the Senate Small
Business Committee, I have held five hearings
about the credit crunch and the Small
Business Administration's lending programs
over the past two years. I introduced
legislation to temporarily eliminate fees and
double the loan limits for many Small
Business Administration loan programs. This
will help stimulate economic growth and job
creation by increasing access to capital for
small business.
The actions taken by the Congress are
critical to help address the economic crisis.
However, it seems likely that additional
measures will be necessary in the future.
Please be assured that I will keep your views
in mind as I continue to work in Congress to
protect our vital national interest in the
continued health of our economy and the well
being of the American people.
Thank you for your correspondence on this
important matter. Please don't hesitate to
contact me again on this or any other issue
of concern to you.
Sincerely,
John F. Kerry
United States Senator