March 3, 2009
by callmecrusader
Often I wonder what the Republicans are doing to try to stop the never-ending want for more money that President Obama and the Democrats seem to think will come forever from American taxpayers. Today I got an answer to my inquiring mind. John Boehner and other House Republican leaders are making statements and asking questions. I say keep on rattling the cages of the big spenders who continue to ignore taxpayers who shout STOP!!!!
Boehner says “American people are looking…for real leadership.”
We are not only looking for real leadership- we are demanding it. It may be 2010 before our anger about being taxed to death will be truly known, but in the mean time Iowa Defense Alliance is committed to keep taxpayers/voters up to date on what our elected officials are saying and doing, and in some cases not doing.
http://republican-news-sweep.blogspot.com/2009/02/house-republicans-press-treasury.html
House Republicans Press Treasury Secretary Geithner for TARP “Exit Strategy”
House Republican leaders today wrote to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, inquiring about the Obama Administration’s “exit strategy” from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). The letter comes as Geithner and other Administration officials are determining how to use the second $350 billion installment of TARP funds President Obama requested last month and whether to request additional taxpayer funds beyond the initial $700 billion authorized last year.
“Because the Administration has committed itself to assisting the auto industry, satisfying commitments made by the previous Administration, and devoting up to $100 billion to mitigate mortgage foreclosures, it has been reported that President Obama might need more than the $700 billion authorized by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (‘EESA’) to fund a ‘bad bank’ to absorb hard-to-value toxic assets,” wrote the leaders. “In light of these commitments – which come at a time when the Federal Reserve is flooding the financial system with trillions of dollars and the Congress is finalizing a fiscal stimulus that is expected to cost taxpayers more than $1.1 trillion – it is not surprising that the American people are asking where it all ends, and whether anyone in Washington is looking out for their wallets.”
Specifically, the leaders asked Secretary Geithner to provide answers to six questions before the Administration determines the next steps for the TARP program, including:
1. How does the Administration plan to maximize taxpayer value and guarantee the most effective distribution of the remaining $350 billion of TARP funds?
2. How is the Administration lending, assessing risk, selecting institutions for assistance, and determining expectations for repayment?
3. Will the Administration opt for a complex “bad bank” rescue plan? How can the “bad bank” efficiently price assets and minimize taxpayer risk? Will financial institutions be required to give substantial ownership stakes to the Federal government to participate in the program?
4. Is a “bad bank” plan an intermediate step that leads to nationalizing America’s banks?
5. Can you elaborate on your plans for the use of an insurance program for toxic assets? Specifically, will you seek to price insurance programs to ensure that taxpayer interests are protected? If so, how will you do so?
6. What is the exit strategy for the government’s sweeping involvement in the financial markets?
“Indeed, a bipartisan majority of the House – 171 Republicans and 99 Democrats – recently expressed the same concerns, voting to disapprove releasing the final $350 billion from the TARP,” the leaders concluded. “As we noted in our December 2, 2008 letter to then-Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke, we realize that changing conditions require agility in developing responses. However, the seemingly ad hoc implementation of TARP has led many to wonder if uncertainty is being added to markets at precisely the time when they are desperately seeking a sense of direction.”
http://republicanleader.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=113066
Washington, Mar 3 – House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today released the following statement as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag testify this morning before the House Ways & Means and Budget Committees:
“American families and small businesses know we cannot afford more taxes, more spending, and more debt amid this increasingly-severe recession, and they deserve real answers from Secretary Geithner and Director Orszag today. How can the Administration justify a trillion-dollar tax hike on families, seniors, and small businesses during a recession? With our nation’s economy in a tailspin, who will pay for the big government spending spree proposed in the Administration’s budget? During this unprecedented economic turmoil, why does the President plan to sign into law the nearly half-trillion spending bill making its way through Congress, even though it is loaded with some 9,000 airdropped earmarks and includes the biggest discretionary spending increase since the Carter Administration?
“With a deepening recession and growing uncertainty among middle-class families about their jobs and nest eggs, the American people are looking to both parties in Washington for real leadership during times of economic crisis. That is precisely why we should be working together on a responsible budget that helps our economy recover without piling more debt on future generations.”
