Shays Says Vote for Bailout Bill is ‘A Legacy Vote’
REACTION, Update
Norwalk Hour
Jordan Zappala
Boston University Washington News Service
10/2/08
WASHINGTON—Rep. Chris Shays knows that the vote he will cast Friday in favor of the emergency financial stabilization plan is one he will take to his grave.
“This vote [is] a legacy vote,” Shays, R-4, said Wednesday. “It’s one of the biggest votes you’ll ever be making. That’s why you have to vote with your conscience and live with it the rest of your life.”
On Friday, the House is expected to vote on the rescue plan for the second time this week – this time taking up the version the Senate passed late Wednesday night.
Democrat Jim Himes, Shays’ opponent in the 4th district House race, said that if given the chance, he too would vote in favor of the bailout bill.
“Yes, I would [vote] for the bill,” Himes said Wednesday. “Now I say that holding my nose, because it is nothing short of outrageous that this was necessary, but our economy is resting on a knife’s edge.”
Shays was one of 65 House Republicans who voted for the failed version of the bill on Monday – which would have released $700 billion that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson requested last week in an effort to increase fluidity in the now-frozen credit markets. The House rejected the measure, 205 to 228.
“On Sunday night, I thought it would pass, but on Monday morning, I felt it slipping away,” Shays said. “I was surprised on one level because a ‘no’ vote was kind of like playing Russian roulette, but I also understand because many people had strong feelings against the bill.”
Shays said Wednesday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that, prior to Monday’s vote, constituent response to the bill had been 30-1 against it, but that after the vote, the phones began to ring largely in favor. But the calls have become primarily negative once more, he said, highlighting the confusion that seems to be surfacing throughout the country.
Himes said his experience with 4th district residents has been different.
“Our district is heavy with financial services so, more than elsewhere, people understand the connection between financial services and the real economy,” he said Wednesday. “A businessman I spoke with today said…he was having trouble borrowing money to meet his payroll. The economy is grinding to a halt, and everybody’s angry.”
In an unexpected move, the Senate voted for its own version of the bill late Wednesday, before the House returned from its two-day recess. The Senate bill included several tax incentives designed to sway conservative Republicans wary of the rescue plan, and also would raise the limit on insured bank deposits from $100,000 to $250,000 per account in an effort to inject consumer confidence back into the banking system.
“I tried to get a $300,000 increase, so I’m thrilled this is part of the plan,” Shays said about the Senate’s new provision. “One of the reasons I stayed in D.C. [during the recess] was to advocate for this amendment.”
He said that the Senate’s decision to vote so quickly showed real leadership and that he largely supports the revised plan.
Himes said he, too, saw the changes as a bold step in the right direction.
“I think forward progress is critical, so if this gets us to a point where we’re able to restore confidence in the system, I think the decision is the right one,” Himes said.
On C-SPAN Wednesday morning, Shays said that while the Senate bill’s new provisions might attract votes from several House Republicans, it has the potential to drive away more House Democrats, making the outcome of Friday’s vote uncertain.
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