The bill failed by a vote of 228-205 with Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher voting against it and Republican Rep. John Campbell voting in favor of it.
“The consequences of doing nothing are so negative and so severe and I have not seen any other idea that is better than this one,” Campbell said of his “yes” vote.
“This isn’t just about Wall Street. It affects anyone with a job, a bank account or retirement plan.”
Meanwhile, Rohrabacher’s Democratic challenger Debbie Cook said she was skeptical of the idea of a massive bailout and agreed with Rohrabacher that banks that are insured with federal funds should be limited in size so that they don’t become so big that their failures are catastrophic for the economy. Orange County Democrat Loretta Sanchez also voted against the package.
“I find it very interesting that the Democrats all voted for it and Republicans voted against it,” said Democrat Steve Young, who is challenging Campbell for the 48th District seat.
Any sort of government bailout should come in the form of assistance to families facing foreclosure on their homes, Young said.
“You should identify what the problem is an fix it from the bottom up, not from the top down,” Young said.
Rohrabacher said he opposed the bill because it was thrown together quickly and legislators were asked to vote on it with little time to prepare through scare-mongering tactics.
“Whatever project they have in mind, we need more time to work on it. It’s totally irresponsible to do something without hearings and oversight to make sure the money is spent the right way,” Rohrabacher said.
He derided the proposal, calling it “socialism for the rich,” and said that it lacked the necessary regulatory oversight to deal with the root issues that caused the problem in the first place.
