U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, who Monday cast an unequivocal vote against the $700 billion bailout of the nation's financial institutions, remains unconvinced that an amended bill approved by the Senate Wednesday will protect taxpayers.
House members are scheduled to vote on the revised legislation today, four days after they rejected the bailout plan.
"While I am glad to see the increased FDIC limits included in the Senate version, I remain skeptical of anything that does not bring true reform and oversight to Wall Street," Carney, D-10 of Dimock, said Thursday. "There must be real protection and relief for our hard-working families, not just billions of dollars of sweeteners that only add to our growing debt."
He's been reluctant to discuss the legislation and the consequences of a failed bailout with the media.
After Monday's vote, Carney issued a statement saying he'd opposed the bailout plan because it lacked oversight and protections for taxpayers.
But a written request to Carney's staff from The Daily Item about the consequences of the failed bailout and how it would affect the economy and taxpayers was ignored.
On Wednesday, after attending a press conference on renewable energy in Shamokin, Carney left without commenting on the bailout issue.
A few hours later, however, he released the following statement:
"I am hopeful that this week the House of Representatives will conduct a reasoned, thoughtful debate addressing the financial upheaval on Wall Street and bring a bipartisan plan to the floor that does not reward risky behavior at the expense of our hardworking taxpayers. We need real oversight and reform, not simply a multi-billion dollar bailout.
"I will continue to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to achieve a solution that puts Main Street before Wall Street. There is much more work to be done and I anticipate that Congress will stay in session until there is a recovery plan in place."
Carney's challenger in the November election, Republican Chris Hackett, of Shavertown, opposes the amended bill.
"The new bailout bill is in some ways worse than the first one," Hackett said Thursday. "They added a bunch of special-interest spending to entice more politicians to support it. But the bottom line is this still puts taxpayers at massive risk and doesn't fix the underlying cause of the crisis."
n E-mail comments to mmoore@dailyitem.com
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