Gohmert Tells Treasury Secretary to Do What He Promised
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) reached out to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson today, urging him to follow through with what he promised would be accomplished through the enormous economic bailout - freed up lending and the extension of credit by banks to qualified borrowers.
Though some banks have sought and accepted billions of taxpayer dollars which they claimed are, “important to restoring the funds to consumers and businesses, large and small, who are at the core of our economy,” it appears that the banks have instead tightened lending and made loans even more difficult to obtain by worthy borrowers. In his letter to Paulson, Gohmert noted that automotive dealers showed him communications from banks that received bailout funds which are now telling worthy, qualified dealers that the banks are no longer making automotive loans or providing necessary credit lines, no mater how reliable or qualified the dealer may be. Though some of the big banks are using bailout tax dollars to purchase smaller, more successful community banks, they are then refusing to loan to businesses in what they consider the less metropolitan areas.
Gohmert continued, “After receiving the massive federal handout, they are quick to abandon a large sector of small businesses which employ millions of people around the country … Such a situation makes a bailout to automakers even more obtuse when a number of banks you bailout are either cancelling floorplanning for dealerships or making car loans less available. It will not help to give Detroit billions of dollars if dealers go out of business and people cannot get loans to buy cars.”
He closed, “Mr. Secretary, we urge you to prohibit banks that have accepted or are seeking funds under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act from refusing to extend credit lines to worthy dealers or borrowers. Of course banks should not be loaning to people who cannot afford the loans, but to arbitrarily announce that NO loans will be made to dealers or car loan borrowers when Detroit is being bailed out is simply asinine … Community banks who were very strong are having to compete with the giant banks who were mismanaged and now have massive taxpayer dollars to allow further unfair competition.”
Gohmert opposed the bailout both times it came before the House for a vote. He has proposed an alternative plan to more government bailouts of a two month federal income tax and FICA tax holiday. His bill, H.R. 143, would provide relief to Americans by allowing them to keep more of their money and better stimulate the economy by deciding for themselves which companies and businesses deserve their hard-earned dollars, all for less than half of the remaining $350 billion of the original bailout bill.
Gohmert represents the First District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives and can be reached at www.gohmert.house.gov.
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