Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - October 03, 2008)
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Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Madam Speaker, everybody in this Chamber knows the right political vote on this package. The easy thing to do is vote ``no'' and hope the bill passes. Every Member knows there is no political upside to supporting this legislation.
It's also easy to say that something must be done--but something else. Well, we all have our own preferred plans, Madam Speaker. The only problem is none of them get 218 votes.
I know my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are struggling to do the right thing. Lyndon Johnson used to say, ``Doing the right thing isn't hard; knowing the right thing to do is.'' This is certainly one of those occasions, Madam Speaker. But I am convinced unless we act, the stock market will take a nose dive, economic activity will freeze, credit markets will dry up, people will lose their jobs.
The real question is: Are we willing to gamble the jobs, the life savings, the retirement accounts, the homes and the businesses of the people we represent? Are we willing to risk the global, political, and social turmoil that will come if we have a prolonged recession or depression in the United States? Frankly, Madam Speaker, I am not.
Madam Speaker, everyone in this room knows the right ``political'' vote on this package. The easy thing to do is to vote no and hope the bill passes. Every member knows there is no political upside in supporting this bill.
It is also easy to say, ``something must be done--but not this.'' We all have our own schemes. Certainly I have my own five-point ``Tom Cole plan.'' I would suspend mark-to-market accounting rules, purchase preferred stock in institutions to protect the taxpayer, institute a private insurance program, limit executive compensation in companies that get Federal help, and raise the FDIC insured bank deposits from $100,000 to $250,000. There is only one problem with my plan, Madam Speaker, it cannot get 218 votes in this Chamber.
Madam Speaker, I know that my colleagues on both sides of this issue want to do ``the right thing.'' However, as Lyndon Johnson used to say, ``doing the right thing isn't hard, knowing the right thing to do is.'' I have struggled over whether passing this bill is the right thing to do. I do know that if it fails the stock market will take a nose dive, credit will freeze up and economic activity will grind to a halt. Some believe in time the markets will stabilize and correct themselves. I hope they are right.
The real question is are we willing to gamble the jobs, life savings, retirement accounts, the homes and the businesses of the people we represent? And are we willing to risk the global political and social turmoil that will surely occur if there is a severe and prolonged recession or depression in the United States? Frankly, Madam Speaker, I am not.
Madam Speaker, I am from Oklahoma, a state that has had more than its share of economic hardship over the years. My grandparents and parents lived through the Great Depression. They dealt with the hard times at home and the wars abroad that it spawned. My family and I lived through the 1980s when a banking and real estate collapse devastated Oklahoma's economy. I saw my State's per capita income fall from 98 percent to 79 percent of the national average. I saw hundreds of banks close, thousands of businesses fail, and countless families lose their life's savings. I do not intend to let that happen again for the sake of political popularity, ideological purity, or legislative perfection.
Madam Speaker, passing this bill is no substitute for long to structural reforms, appropriate legislative oversight, and the establishment of suitable levels of accountability and transparency in our financial markets. Those are issues we must confront in the next Congress. However, inaction in the face of the current turmoil in the markets is not an acceptable option. In fact, it is a huge gamble.
Madam Speaker, I know I will be haunted by this vote for the rest of my political life. I know I will have to explain it again and again to my friends. And I will be forced to defend it in every election against my opponents. And I know, having made this vote, I will have to make other tough votes to reform our economic and political systems. However that is far better than the lost jobs, the foreclosed homes, the depleted savings, the broken businesses, the devastated lives, and the dangerous world that I believe will be the consequences of a failure to act.
Madam Speaker, I will vote for this bill not because I wish to, but because I have to for the good of the people I represent. I trust that each of my colleagues will cast their vote in the same spirit, and I truly believe they will. There are no good choices here--but positive action is the right choice.
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