Sununu Issues Statement on Proposed Treasury Rescue Plan Following Joint Economic Committee Hearing with Bernanke

Statement

SUNUNU ISSUES STATEMENT ON PROPOSED TREASURY RESCUE PLAN FOLLOWING JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE HEARING WITH BERNANKE

Senator holds conference call with New Hampshire reporters

United States Senator John Sununu (R-NH) today (9/24) issued the following comments regarding the proposed Treasury credit rescue plan. Sununu participated in a Joint Economic Committee hearing on Wednesday morning (9/24) where Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified on the economic outlook for the nation. Sununu later hosted a conference call with New Hampshire reporters.

"Whatever steps we take on the Treasury plan need to be designed to protect the market for student loans, home loans, and credit cards, and the credit markets that consumers and businesses in New Hampshire depend on every day. Credit is critical to the operation of our economy, and we want to make sure that our course of action stabilizes and adds confidence to the financial markets that families in New Hampshire depend upon.

"We must take steps to protect taxpayers. I opposed taking any action on Lehman Brothers, and I opposed the federal government action to protect AIG.

"There are steps that can be taken in this Treasury plan that would ensure taxpayer protections are in place. Oversight is the best place to start. We need to look at ways to get the General Accounting Office or an Independent Agency involved in keeping track of the program, its structure, the prices it's paying for securities, and to protect taxpayers' interests.

"It's also essential that any gains from any of these programs - whether in place already with AIG or Bear Stearns or part of the Treasury plan - be used to pay down the debt, not increase government spending. We need that kind of commitment and guarantee to protect the taxpayer. And, we should make sure that any program is temporary so that we're not creating big new government bureaucracy that's going to be with us for decades.

"This is an unprecedented crisis, but if we keep the taxpayers at the front of the line, and take steps to ensure that we restore confidence in our financial market, we can minimize the impact and damage done by this tremendous and unprecedented collapse in real estate prices.

"I am determined to work to protect taxpayers' interests and to make sure we get this right. I will continue to assert leadership on reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and adding regulatory oversight at the federal level to the insurance industry."

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