Rogers: Senate improved bailout bill

By CHRIS HARRIS, Staff Writer
Commonwealth Journal

Somerset October 03, 2008 06:44 pm

— The last time around, Somerset’s own Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers was one of only two Kentuckians in the U.S. House of Representatives to support the $700 billion bailout of the nation’s troubled financial industry, which fell 228-205 Monday.
On Friday, the Senate-reenergized plan picked up only one more of the six available Kentucky House votes, but more than enough elsewhere to pass through by a count of 263-171, following a tidal wave of shock in the mass media that the taxpayer-funded bailout didn’t succeed the first time around.
Rogers supported the measure the first time, and did so again on the second, though he reiterated Friday that he is “not a fan” of the financial rescue package. However, he was unwilling to not step in and try to quell a national economic crisis.
“I found myself unwilling to gamble on my people’s future, and feared that simply sitting idly by would put this country into its deepest financial recession in a generation,” said Rogers in his statement.
“In addition, I believe the bi-partisan Senate package really improves the bill the House rejected, providing maximum protections for the taxpayers,” he continued.
• protecting 21 million middle-class families from an average $2,500 tax increase because of the “outdated” Alternative Minimum Tax — “a regressive, unfair tax originally intended to capture only wealthy individuals.”
• tuition deductions for college students;
• out-of-pocket expense deductions for teachers;
• updates to the child tax credit;
• research and development tax credits for small businesses.
Rogers suggested the updated version of the package does good for those affected by another headline-making national catastrophe.
“In these trying economic times, it is especially important for the Congress to lend a helping hand to our citizens most in need,” said Rogers, “and the bill provides critical tax relief for our citizens on the Gulf Coast and the Midwest who are trying to rebuild their lives and homes from devastating hurricanes and floods.”
But it’s the citizens of his own Fifth Congressional District, Rogers suggested, that he was most trying to help by voting for the bailout.
“Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have always sought to help residents of southern and eastern Kentucky achieve a more prosperous future,” said Rogers. “It is that future I am most concerned about today. Whether it’s the homeowner looking to refinance their mortgage, the student looking to attend college, the small business owner trying to meet payroll, or the retiree looking to make ends meet, I’m hopeful this bill will give a leg up to those citizens most in need.”
Rogers blamed the credit market woes on “Wall Street fat cats” whose “greed, corruption, and irresponsible behavior” have put the livelihood of American citizens in peril.
“The sad reality is there are millions of innocent victims suffering from this tragedy all across America,” said Rogers. “The troubles in our credit markets have gone well beyond affecting the robber barons on Wall Street — it is beginning to affect everyday Americans in their everyday lives.”