[StBernard] Responding to your message

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Wed Oct 8 15:25:04 EDT 2008


Dear Mr. Annis,



Thank you for contacting me in opposition to the $700 billion bailout
package. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important issue and want
you to know that I agree with you.



As you may know, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act would provide
authority to the Treasury Secretary to use $700 billion of American taxpayer
money to purchase troubled assets. After studying the proposal and talking
with many financial experts and constituents, I decided that I can't support
it for three main reasons.



First, it is an unprecedented government bailout that will almost certainly
pave the way for even more government bailouts at the expense of the
American taxpayer - maybe sooner rather than later. Second, it requires
people at Treasury to make tens of thousands of judgment calls about what
they buy and for how much. The people making these decisions will be people
from Wall Street who want to go back, causing great concern for biases and
even corruption. Third, there has been no adequate discussion of the major
reforms needed. I am afraid this big government first step helps ensure that
Congress will not make those strong reforms - like breaking up Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac and requiring cash down for home purchases. I believe we
should work to address the root cause of these problems so we can avoid
future widespread economic troubles instead of simply expecting American
taxpayers to pay the bill.



You may also be pleased to know that I strongly opposed and voted against
the earlier bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These two
government-sponsored mortgage giants' own mismanagement and poor decision
making caused their downfall and were a major factor in causing our current
crisis. The plan to bailout these mortgage giants could cost American
taxpayers up to $300 billion, making the U.S. taxpayers liable for up to $1
trillion when combined with the Treasury Department's $700 billion proposal.




The American housing market and economy has greatly suffered as a result of
irresponsible mortgage lending and borrowing. There have been significant
loan defaults and foreclosures, and many financial institutions have lost
billions of dollars. However, I believe that taxpayers should not bail
irresponsible banks, mortgage lenders, and borrowers out of their bad
decisions.



Again, thank you for contacting me about this important issue. Please do not
hesitate to contact me again in the future about any other issue important
to you and your family.






Sincerely,
Senator David Vitter
United States Senator





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