Rep. Cole's Comments on Economic Stabilization Act

Press Release

Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement today after the House of Representatives voted on H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

"Lyndon Johnson used to say, 'doing the right thing isn't hard, knowing the right thing to do is.' Over the past few weeks I have questioned whether passing this bill is the right thing to do. But I believe that without immediate action the stock market will take a nose dive, credit will freeze up and economic activity will grind to a halt. I am not willing to gamble the jobs, life savings, retirement accounts, the homes and the businesses of the people I represent. We cannot 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.

Oklahoma 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% to 79% 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.

Passing this bill is no substitute for long term 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, I believe that inaction in the face of the current turmoil in the markets is not an acceptable option. In fact, it is a huge gamble.

This was a very difficult vote, one that I will have to stand up and defend for the rest of my political life. And I know, having made this vote, I will have to make other tough votes to reform our economic and political systems. I am willing to take those tough votes. But I will also make sure that I let my constituents know exactly why I voted the way that I did. And I will continue to make myself available to listen to their concerns and answer their questions as we go forward and deal with the future of our economy. At the end of the day, I believe that taking a tough vote is easier than seeing more jobs lost, homes foreclosed, savings depleted, businesses broken, lives devastated, and a more dangerous world emerge as the consequences of our failure to act."

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