Washington, DC– Congressman Ron Klein (FL-22) today voted in favor of a bipartisan economic rescue plan. The legislation failed by a vote of 205-228. Following the vote, Klein released the following statement:

 

“We as a nation face difficult economic times. Today, Congress considered an undesirable, but essential, plan to stabilize our financial system and get our economy back on track. I came to Congress with a set of core values and guiding principles, which include standing up for South Florida families and protecting their financial futures. Today, I acted on those values. I voted to take responsible steps to protect personal investments such as IRAs, 401K plans and individual pensions, in an effort to ensure the financial security of everyone in our community.             

“Although this plan did not pass today, it was clear to me that inaction was unacceptable. We can see already the negative effects on the markets, and we must now roll up our sleeves and find new solutions that will help ensure that Americans can continue to access the credit they need to purchase homes and cars, and to invest in their small businesses and their children’s education. I am just as outraged as many of my constituents about the eight years of mismanagement and reckless conduct that have brought our economy to this point, and any future solution must contain strong congressional and independent investigations into what went wrong and who is responsible, as well as continuing oversight to prevent this kind of crisis from happening again.

“In the past week, I and other members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, worked around the clock to dramatically improve the original, unacceptable Administration proposal. We made real, bipartisan progress create a plan that protects every dime of taxpayer money and I am confident that we will return to the negotiating table and produce legislation that will pass both Houses of Congress.”