O'Neill Calls on Ohio Delegation
to Block the Sale of National City
"Letters and investigations won't save these jobs," candidate says
Wickliffe, Ohio (October 27, 2008) – Democratic congressional candidate Bill O'Neill called on Congress today to step in and block the sale of National City Bank to PNC Bank. While Rep. Steve LaTourette called for an investigation into the sale's behind-the-scenes dealings, O'Neill asked the Ohio delegation to step up and save thousands of Northeast Ohio jobs.
"Congress can save these jobs," O'Neill said. "These are our taxpayer dollars. We shouldn't be paying to have thousands of jobs taken away from us. Now is the time for our representation in Congress to stand up and fight.
"If we're spending $700 billion to bail out financial institutions across the country, certainly 1% of that should be used to save thousands of jobs right here in Northeast Ohio. We taxpayers should end up as equity shareholders in the new National City Bank. "We've done this before, and we can do it again. All that's missing is congressional leadership."
O'Neill also said LaTourette's call for an investigation is "too little, too late" for thousands of Northeast Ohioans.
"Letters and investigations won't save these jobs," O'Neill said. "Congressman LaTourette is a senior member of the Financial Services Committee in Congress, our region's only representation on that committee. It seems to me that Northeast Ohio is out thousands of jobs today because Steve LaTourette didn't do his. If a call for an investigation after the fact is the best he can do, then it's time we had a new voice in Congress."
O'Neill spokesperson Justin Barasky said, "The difference between Bill O'Neill and Steve LaTourette is that Bill O'Neill wants to prevent the loss of these jobs and Steve LaTourette wants to find out how we lost them."
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