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Three House Democrats broke party ranks and opposed last week’s housing legislation, citing the bill’s “bailout” for Wall Street and its ineffectiveness.
“We are bailing out Wall Street, and there is only a pittance for Main Street,” Rep. Marcy Kaptur (Ohio) told The Hill. Kaptur said that taxpayers would be “asked to give an open-ended commitment to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and to the investment houses of this country.”
The Foreclosure Prevention Act allows the federal government to extend an emergency line of credit to embattled mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie.
In a press release, Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.) said the “bill is set up to extend credit without reform or restriction, putting taxpayers at risk unnecessarily.” DeFazio argued that the bill should have included limits on dividends to stockholders to serve as “taxpayer protections.”
“This legislation increases our national debt ceiling $800 billion. … That is simply staggering!” Rep. Nancy Boyda (Kan.) said in a press release.
The bill passed the House, 272-152, with 227 Democrats voting for the measure. The Senate voted to pass the legislation in a special Saturday vote, 72-13. President Bush recently lifted previous threats to veto the bill.
DeFazio and Kaptur are entrenched incumbents, while the freshman Boyda is attempting to hold down a conservative-leaning district.
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