There are two important points you must know about this economic crisis. Reforms have been debated for years but not passed. And, leading economists believe your tax dollars were not required to keep our financial and credit markets afloat.

That is why I voted against the recent Wall Street bailout. It unnecessarily put taxpayers on the hook for nearly $1 trillion, and it failed to address the root cause of the problem.

The American Dream is what makes our country the greatest in the world. The ability to start with nothing, climb the ladder, and achieve success. We buy a home, provide for our family and send our children to college. I believe everyone should have that opportunity.

But it was the overzealous efforts of Congress in the 1990's to put home ownership within closer reach of Americans that led to the financial crisis. For so many first-time homeowners who walked into a bank over the last decade thinking, "this sounds too good to be true," today the other half of that old saying, "it probably is," comes true.

Millions of those homeowners have defaulted on their loans. And their collective mortgages that were sold as securities, which depended on people making their monthly payments are virtually worthless. Giant Wall Street lenders that banked on them have now gone under. Undoubtedly prosecutions should follow.

There is no doubt this scenario has created an economic emergency that needed immediate attention. And Congress finally gave in to the Bush administration's hard sell for taxpayers to bail out the banks and give them the money that homeowners who were in over their heads could not.

We must pass fundamental reforms that require more openness and more responsibility from Wall Street, not just throwing good money after bad. Otherwise we are certain to repeat today's crisis.

Yet many in government ignored this lesson of history. In the mid 90's, before I arrived in Washington, Congress commanded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to give credit to homeowners beyond what they could reasonably afford, and others followed their lead.

In 2005 I voted to force more oversight onto Fannie and Freddie to reduce the number of risky loans they could back. However, the bill died, allowing risky loans to continue to spread through the entire financial system. Had these reforms become law, I believe we could have avoided today's crisis.

Borrowing massive amounts of money to purchase bad debt and worthless paper from Wall Street has now saddled the next generation of Americans with a trillion dollar increase in our debt, with no assurances that it will do anything to solve our economic problems.

Many economists believe this new debt is unnecessary, and that Congress should only implement reforms.

Former FDIC Chairman William Isaac asserts that if the FDIC vowed to protect all general creditors of failed banks and institute a net worth certificate program, the financial markets will calm down immediately. "They will stop hoarding their liquidity." Businesses would continue to meet their payrolls and employees could collect a paycheck and provide for their families.

This is about responsibility and accountability. It's what we teach our children. Should Wall Street have to pay for its own mess or should that burden fall on hard working taxpayers? I was elected to look out for the taxpayer. And in my estimation, Congress got this wrong.

Instead of putting taxpayers on the hook, I sponsored alternative legislation which would limit federal backing for high risk loans and require strict enforcement of laws to protect investors. It would also suspend the Capital Gains tax – unleashing private capital from the sidelines and giving the economy the kick-start it needs to start selling again.

These are just the first steps. We must do more in Washington to help the American people pay their bills and have confidence in the free market.

I remain confident that the American economy will come through this rough time. I'm confident because its underlying strength isn't found in the trading of scraps of paper on Wall Street – it's found in the commitment to hard work, creative ingenuity, and honest labor on Main Street. The free market means the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail.

McCaul represents the 10th Congressional District.