Congress is not so eager to post bail
September 23, 2008 by Tisa Silver
Filed under Finance
Today, the Senate Banking Committee heard Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson urge the quick passing of a $700 billion bailout to stabilize U.S. financial markets.
Paulson, the bailout’s author, wants Congress to act swiftly and avoid making any changes to his plan that would delay its implementation. Time is of the essence and he wants this passed by the end of the week.
Well, if today’s lengthy hearing is any indicator of how fast Congress will work to pass the plan, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a Friday approval!
I understand that never before seen problems require creative solutions (and for a moment let’s ignore the fact that this creative solution costs $700 billion) but, how often has one person written a plan, taken it to Congress and had it approved, as is, inside of one week?
I think that they would have done it quicker if the constituents didn’t raise such a fuss