O’Neill on Wall Street Bailout: ‘Americans Deserve Accountability Before Wall Street Gets One Dime’
Candidate says Congress needs to protect taxpayers first
Wickliffe, Ohio (September 23, 2008) – Democratic congressional candidate Bill O’Neill took on Congress today as they considered a $700 billion plan to bail out Wall Street. O’Neill argued that before they even consider a taxpayer-funded handout to Wall Street, Congress must demand accountability and transparency over the transactions that caused the meltdown.
“The bailout, as it currently stands, is a bad idea. Americans deserve accountability before Wall Street gets one dime. We deserve a host of assurances that what has taken place on Wall Street will never be allowed to happen again. It’s time for Congress to do its job.
“I find it unacceptable that Congress plans to write a blank check to Wall Street before standing up for homeowners in Northeast Ohio,” O’Neill said. “It’s time that Congress started doing its job as regulators of the banking, insurance, and real estate industries. Before we spend billions of taxpayer dollars, I think most Americans want to see the people that are responsible for this financial meltdown held accountable, and that means the resignation of management, the refunding of CEO compensation packages, and mandated limitations on future CEO compensation among the companies benefitting from the bailout. I’d also like to see a ban on political campaign contributions from officers of corporations receiving bailouts and a requirement that federal candidates in the 2008 cycle return political contributions to officers and representatives of these corporations.”
“Our economy is being devastated by George Bush’s economic policies and by the deregulation pushed through by Congress in the late 1990s. Americans are worried about losing their savings or even losing their homes. And now the folks in Washington are telling us that the top priority is saving Wall Street?! How about saving the middle class families struggling to make a mortgage payment? How about saving the folks who are seeing their life savings ravaged by greed and corruption?
“I think you’ll find that most taxpayers are outraged by the fact that Congress never has enough funds to extend health care to every American family, but when Wall Street’s in trouble our check books can’t open fast enough."
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