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Press Release

For Immediate Release
December 5, 2008
Contact:
Adam Benson (Dingell) (202) 271-8587
Sean Bonyun (Upton) (202) 225-3761

Dingell, Upton Say Paulson Must Help Working Americans Before Getting More TARP Money

Washington, DC – Michigan Congressmen John D. Dingell (D-MI15) and Fred Upton (R-MI06) say Congress should prevent Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson from gaining access to the second $350 billion of Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funds until Paulson demonstrates “a firm commitment to assist working Americans and save American jobs.”

Dingell said about the letter: “We cannot save our economy if we concentrate our rescue efforts on just a portion of the populace. The financial industry created this economic calamity, and their actions have set off a domino effect capable of toppling other sectors of our economy, like the auto industry. We cannot contain these problems now by focusing solely on the financial companies and ignoring the rest of the economy. Loans for the auto industry are critical for the entire nation’s well-being, and I’m prepared to do whatever I can do to get it done.”

Upton added: “If we stand by and do nothing, millions of jobs in Middle America will disappear – from the assembly plants to parts suppliers on down– we are not talking about a ripple effect but rather a tidal wave that will have catastrophic consequences on the U.S. economy.  We are not seeking a handout in the hundreds of billions of dollars of the likes that CitiGroup and AIG received – but rather a loan that will be paid back with interest, an investment in America’s workers and the nation’s rich tradition of the domestic automobile.  It is well past time for the nation’s leaders to start caring about the folks on Main Street whose jobs hang in the balance.”

View letter [pdf]

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