Hutchison: GOP to 'stand firm' against current financial bill, Democrats' tactics

The sole woman on the Senate Banking committee said Saturday that the GOP "will stand firm against a partisan bill that exposes ordinary taxpayers to future bailouts or favors big companies over community banks across America."

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), delivering the weekly Republican address, accused Democrats of forcing the healthcare reform bill on the public despite "overwhelming" opposition, adding, "The tactics the Democratic leadership used to pass the healthcare bill must not be repeated."

Hutchison said that while both parties agree that no company should be deemed "too big to fail," Democrats pushed a bill through the Banking panel that doesn't stop future bailouts.

Speaking on Wall Street on Thursday, President Barack Obama pushed back on Republican criticism that Democratic plans for financial reform are a ticket to endless bailouts.

“But what’s not legitimate is to suggest that somehow the legislation being proposed is going to encourage future taxpayer bailouts, as some have claimed,” Obama said. “That makes for a good sound bite, but it’s not factually accurate. It is not true.”

Hutchison said that the White House "is attacking Republican leaders to score political points ... but they underestimate Americans’ understanding."

She advocated a bipartisan bill that will "prevent future bailouts" and "address the root causes of the economic downturn."

"It's time for the name-calling to stop," Hutchison said. "Getting our economy back on track is too important to allow political games to sidetrack these efforts."

---