TARP Reform and Accountability Act of 2009
Floor Speech
TARP REFORM AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - January 15, 2009)
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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 62 provides for further consideration of H.R. 384, the Troubled Assets Recovery Program Reform Act of 2009 under a structured rule. The rule makes in order the 11 amendments printed in the Rules Committee report, including a manager's amendment that incorporated many of the amendments submitted to the Rules Committee. All the amendments are debatable for 10 minutes except the manager's amendment, which is debatable for 40 minutes.
The rule also provides for a motion to recommit with or without instructions.
Finally, the rule contains a provision to preserve the House's ability to have a vote on the second $350 billion. The first TARP bill contained language providing for expedited consideration a disapproval resolution that provided for a vote not later than 6 days after the date Congress receives the report.
However, because President Bush sent the request to Congress on January 12, the 6th day would fall on a Sunday, a day that the House is not in session. Therefore, the ability to move to proceed would expire without giving the House an opportunity to act. The language in this rule assures that the House will have that opportunity.
Mr. Speaker, let me begin by saying that this is a good rule. Eleven amendments are made in order--five Republican and six Democratic. One of the Democratic amendments is the manager's amendment which incorporates parts or all of the 16 Democratic amendments and Republican amendments.
Mr. Speaker, as I discussed yesterday, this bill is about the way the TARP should be spent, but it does not actually allow or preclude the release of the second round of these funds.
Now, I know many of my colleagues are apprehensive about the release of these funds. I understand their concerns, and I share some of them. The Bush administration did not disburse the funds as many of us thought they promised. I believe that this bill that we are debating today and the amendments should alleviate many of these concerns.
I believe that providing a blueprint for how these funds should be spent is one of the most important actions this Congress will take. We know jump-starting our economy is a top priority of this new administration and of this Congress. But we have to do it right. We must ensure that the funding goes to the right places--to the homeowners who face foreclosure, in many cases at no fault of their own, and the small businesses who don't have access to funds for their payrolls simply because the credit market is so tight.
This bill, Mr. Speaker, attempts to get it right. Not only does this bill provide a blueprint on how this House believes these funds should be spent; it complements the roadmap already provided by President-elect Obama about how his administration would use these funds.
The January 12, 2009, letter from National Economic Adviser-designate Larry Summers details how the incoming Obama administration will allocate these funds, and I support these goals. But like I said yesterday, Mr. Speaker, we will trust the new administration, but we need to also verify.
This is a good bill that will be made better with the adoption of many of the amendments made in order under this rule. I support this rule, I support the underlying bill, and I urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for his observation, but I didn't say that it was not related. The gentleman was talking about this bill as if today we're releasing this money.
What this bill does is set conditions. It makes it clear what Congress' intention is on how that money should be spent if it should be released. If the gentleman or anybody else in this Chamber wants to vote against releasing additional money, they will have that opportunity at a later date.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, the Bush economic policies over the 8 years have been a failure. They have been a miserable failure. We have an incredibly high number of people who have lost their jobs. December marked the second highest number of foreclosures in the history of the United States of America. We have the highest deficit and the highest debt in the history of our country.
Unless we do something, something big and something bold, the economy will get worse. We have the worst economy since the Great Depression.
People don't want to hear anymore speeches. People don't want to hear anymore excuses. The people of this country don't want us to stand on the House floor and say we feel your pain.
What people want is action and people want smart, bold, big, effective action by this Congress. What we are doing here today is trying to put forward in blueprint so if, in fact, anymore money is going to be released as part of the TARP, that it is clear where that money will be spent. We are not content to just take the next administrations at their word.
We want to make it very clear where Congress stands. This is a chance for people to decide. If you are for foreclosure relief, then you should be supporting the bill that Chairman Frank has put forward. If that's not important to you, then you can vote ``no.'' If you want accountability, then you should support this bill. If that's not important, then put it aside.
If you think that the United States House of Representatives should have a say in how this money is spent, then I think you should support this bill. If not, then fine. You don't have to support it.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I just want to close by saying that I appreciate the history lesson on Ronald Reagan and the Berlin Wall and all the other things that were mentioned.
But the harsh reality is that people are suffering. As we speak, people are losing their homes. The foreclosure numbers in December were the second highest, were the second highest in the history of this country. People need help now. We need to do something now.
So the point of this legislation is to help provide a blueprint for this new administration which has already outlined similar views but to basically reinforce what they have said they want to do, to help provide foreclosure relief, more accountability, to be able to help small businesses get the credit they need, so they can employ more people. We need to get this economy on the right track, and Congress should have a say in it.
So I would urge my colleagues to vote "yes'' on the underlying bill and I would urge them to vote "yes'' on the bill. I urge a "yes'' vote on the previous question.
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