Reaction from Ind. reps. on financial rescue package

By The Associated Press

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Oct 3, 2008 at 2:19 PM EST

Story Updated: Oct 3, 2008 at 4:37 PM EST

The following is reaction from Indiana's congressmen on the revised $700 billion emergency financial rescue package that the House passed 263-171 on Friday. Indiana's representatives voted 5-4 against the plan.

Supporting the bill were Republican Mark Souder and Democrats Andre Carson, Joe Donnelly and Brad Ellsworth. Opposing the bill were Democrats Baron Hill and Pete Visclosky and Republicans Dan Burton, Steve Buyer and Mike Pence.

Carson voted against the bill in a previous vote, but voted for the revised package Friday.

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"While this legislation is far from perfect, it is much better than the original three-page proposal offered by the Bush Administration and the incomplete measure that failed in the House on Monday. However, this substantively more inclusive bill that I voted in favor of today will prevent over 30,000 Indianapolis residents from receiving a considerable tax increase." — Rep. Andre Carson, a Democrat who voted for the bill.

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"This bill is not the bill that I or other Republicans would have chosen, but with a Democrat-controlled Congress, any bill must be a compromise. Possible failure of our economy was not an option." — Rep. Mark Souder, a Republican who voted for the bill.

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"Something needs to be done to shore up our financial markets, but without many substantive changes and $150 billion in additional spending — I don't think this is the answer." — Rep. Baron Hill, a Democrat who voted against the bill.

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"This crisis is a decade in the making. It is the result of cynical exploitation within an unregulated industry, and it should be addressed conscientiously and equitably. We should have considered all the viable alternatives to the bailout and deliberated the merits of each course of action in order to strengthen the banks' balance sheets." — Rep. Pete Visclosky, a Democrat who voted against the bill.

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"My number one priority is to protect our jobs and savings back home, and this bill presented us with the best chance of doing that. I did not take pleasure in voting for this legislation, but the choice before us was stark: either pass this rescue package or do nothing. Doing nothing would have cost us more jobs and billions in retirement savings." — Rep. Joe Donnelly, a Democrat who voted for the bill.

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"Government intervention in the free market can be problematic; therefore government should be the lender of last resort. This bill is still a hurried and stressed solution, which in the end may not be in the best interest of the taxpayers. I am uneasy that bureaucrats will now be making valuation decisions on bad debt and using the taxpayers' money to purchase these toxic assets." — Rep. Steve Buyer, a Republican who voted against the bill.

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"With this bill we place upon the American public a responsibility which is not theirs: bailing out financial institutions after they made irresponsible business decisions. This we should not do." — Rep. Mike Pence, a Republican who voted against the bill, in a statement issued before the vote.

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