PenceBlog: Congressman Pence opposes bailout - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence : 6th District Of Indiana

Congressman Pence received media coverage for his continued opposition to proposed federal bailout:

Wall Street Journal: "GOP Leaders Try to Secure Rank-and-File Vote"

Rep. Michael Pence (R., Ind.) conceded that Republicans had helped win changes to the bill, including a plan that would incorporate an insurance-based program into the bailout, which would be funded by finance companies and potentially help ease losses for taxpayers. But Rep. Pence condemned the package as "the largest corporate bailout in American history," and urged Republicans who believe in free markets and limited government to "vote in accordance with those convictions."

WANE: "Local leaders react to bailout"
Sunday, Indiana Congressman Mike Pence released this statement:
"Republicans improved this bill but it remains the largest corporate bailout in American history, which forever changes relationships between government and the financial sector, and passes the cost along to the American people. I cannot support it."
Politico: "Pence comes out against the plan - again"
Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, one of the first conservatives to come out against the $700 billion financial-markets rescue plan, issued a policy paper to his colleagues Sunday afternoon explaining his opposition to the proposal.
"Economic freedom means the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail," Pence wrote. "The decision to give the federal government the ability to nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America interrupts this basic truth of our free market economy.
Chicago Tribune: "Bailout legislation set for vote"

Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, who spoke out early against the plan first proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, circulated a letter to colleagues on Sunday: "We now have a deal that promises to bring near-term stability to our financial turmoil, but at what price?"

Human Events: "Garbage Dump or Gold Mine? Make Up Your Mind Mr. President"
While President Bush makes up his mind on whether this debt is toxic or merely dormant, House Republicans deserve fulsome praise for resisting Bush’s latest socialist power grab. Among others, Republican representatives Eric Cantor of Virginia, Indiana’s Mike Pence, Wisconsin’s Paul Ryan, and Texas’ Jeb Hensarling have offered at least a dozen alternatives to Bush’s boondoggle. These ideas involve less government intervention than Bush demands. In most cases, far less. Among other things, these members of the pro-market Republican Study Committee offer dramatic tax relief as one way out of this mess.
Human Events: "Boehner's Partisans"

Enter Representative Boehner who joined with Indiana’s Mike Pence, Georgia’s Tom Price, North Carolina’s Thatcher-come-lately Virginia Foxx, and the rest of the "drilling rebels" to nationalize the issue while Pelosi and the Democrats took their summer vacation. These men are conservative and constructively -- even refreshingly -- partisan; they also refuse to back down on issues of principle. And now they are the gang that refuses to be part of the Democrat bailout scheme promoted by Pelosi and Harry Reid.

Business Week: "The $700 Billion Question"

Those fighting the bill suggested that Republican activism had improved it, but that the proposal remained, as Representative Mike Pence argued in an open letter to fellow lawmakers, "the largest corporate bailout in American history," and one that "forever changes the relationship between government and the financial sector."

AFP Wire Story: "US Congress to vote on $700bln Wall Street bailout"

"We now have a deal that promises to bring near-term stability to our
financial turmoil, but at what price?" Republican Congressman Michael Pence, a
critic of the bailout, asked in a letter to colleagues.

WCSI: "What Exactly Does the Wall Street Bailout Mean?"
Congressman Mike Pence continues to oppose the bill. In a letter to his colleagues Pence says the bailout forever changes the relationship between government and the financial sector, and passes the cost along to the American people. He says economic freedom means the freedom not only to succeed, but to fail.
USA Today: "Changes to $700B bill curb taxpayers' risk"
An influential Republican conservative, Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, said the bill would "nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America."
"Economic freedom means the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail," Pence wrote in a letter urging colleagues to vote no.
CQ Today: "Bailout Bill Poses Whipping Challenge for Both Parties"
Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, a leading member of the influential Republican Study Committee, on Sunday said in a statement: "Republicans improved this bill but it remains the largest corporate bailout in American history, forever changes the relationship between government and the financial sector, and passes the cost along to the American people. I cannot support it."
Pence was urging his GOP colleagues, "If you came here because you believe in limited government and the freedom of the American marketplace, vote in accordance with those convictions."

posted by Pence Press Office # 7:59 AM