Press Releases
Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami
202-226-7616
09/26/2008
Pelosi on Negotiations for Bipartisan Legislation to Address Financial Crisis: ‘Now We’re Back on Track’
Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank held a press availability in the Capitol this afternoon to discuss the continuing negotiations on bipartisan legislation to address the financial crisis. Below are her remarks:
“Good afternoon. As we gather here this afternoon, on the floor of the House there is a debate going on about bringing a stimulus package to the floor. I’m very proud of it because it will address the concerns of the American people about the creation of good paying jobs in our country, about meeting the needs of the American people. I’m very pleased with the support we are receiving for that legislation.
“Earlier in the week, we passed a bill about consumer credit to help the consumers with their credit cards. Everything that we are doing is to help the American people, many of whom are feeling the impact of the downturn in our economy.
“As you know, we are engaged in negotiations now on a very important rescue package for our markets but more importantly, for our economy and for the American people. I believe that great progress is being made. As I have said before, we will not leave until legislation is passed that will be signed by the President and we will be working through the weekend to achieve that end.
“We’re well served in those negotiations by the chair of the Financial Services Committee, Congressman Barney Frank. Under his leadership, much change has been made to the legislation that was initially proposed last week by the Administration. As many of you know, last Thursday, we were informed in a very grim meeting in the Speaker’s office about the state of the markets and the need for the Congress to intervene. Two days later, the Administration sent over its proposal and we were quite stunned to see a $700 billion price tag on top of a bill that gave very expansive authority to the Secretary of Treasury without very much protection for the American taxpayer or homeowner, much oversight or much upside for the taxpayer.
“Because of the work of Barney Frank, working in a bipartisan way, those principles of why we stabilize the markets, protect the taxpayer, to have forbearance for homeowners, to have equity position for the taxpayer to get some of the upside of what upturn there might be in these financial institutions, for it has to have reform for CEO compensation – all of these were addressed. These four principles were accepted by President Bush in his speech the night before last and we’re very pleased with that progress. Again, in addition to reining in the expansive authority that was drawn for the Secretary in the original legislation.
“So in the course of this week we’ve made a great deal of progress. I would not include yesterday as among the days where we made progress, because it was an intervening event that set us back, but now we’re back on track. We invite any proposals. As I’ve said to the Secretary: ‘While we do not agree with your original bill, your core proposal about the buying of the illiquid paper is one that you have preferred, studying many options. As long as other proposals do not interfere with the success of your proposal, I think that we should have the latitude to accept any new proposals.’
“I do not include in that, though, a reduction in taxes, a reduction of the capital gains tax proposed by the Republicans. But there are provisions in their proposal that I have said earlier in the week, I do not see why the Secretary could not accept some of those among the options he has to choose from in order to strengthen these institutions, in order to bring stability to the markets, in order to turn around our economy.
“As I said, we will be in session as long as it takes, and we hope it doesn’t take long because the markets need a message from us -- that we’re acting with deliberation and that we understand that time is important.
“With that I’m pleased to yield to our distinguished chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Mr. Frank.”