Ben on the Bailout

Statement

Ben made the following statement on the bailout vote in the House:

"The version of the bill that the House voted on was a better approach than the original proposal by the Bush Administration, which was a blank check to the Administration without any oversight or accountability, but it still fell short. The bill's effort to cap executive compensation was weak. It did not address the poor oversight of the sub-prime mortgage industry. The legislation needs to include stronger accountability, assistance for struggling homeowners, effective limitations on excessive executive compensation and real protection and opportunities for taxpayers to recover. We need to look after taxpayer dollars with strong oversight and accountability.

The bill failed to reform the underlying areas that led to this crisis, which are a lack of oversight and accountability. We need a solution, but this bill was not it."

Source