Washington, D.C.,
Sep 28, 2008 -
Republican Congressman Jeff Flake, who represents Arizona’s Sixth District, today issued the following statement regarding the bailout agreement:
“After having a chance to review the details of the bailout agreement, I will not be supporting the legislation,” said Flake. “Despite efforts by the House Republican Leadership to add some needed sanity to the proposal, this bailout still exposes taxpayers to hundreds of billions of dollars of liability.”
“We find ourselves in this predicament largely because implicit, and eventually explicit, federal guarantees in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shielded the financial services sector from market discipline. The way out of this mess is not to insert government deeper into the free market.”
“We don’t have enough money in the federal treasury, nor can we responsibly borrow enough money to keep the market from finding its eventual bottom. Trying to do so will simply prolong the crisis.”
“We do face a looming economic crisis, but there are other actions Congress can take to calm the markets and increase liquidity without exposing taxpayers to so much liability. Such actions were outlined in an alternative proposal offered by Rep. Ryan and Rep. Cantor. We should act on this proposal immediately.”
