Press Release
March 24, 2009
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC) has joined Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) as a cosponsor of H. Res. 199, the No More Bailouts Resolution. The resolution calls on Congress to stop spending billions of borrowed taxpayer dollars on bailouts for private industries.
“Over the past year, financial markets have been infused with well over a trillion dollars from the federal government – including $200 billion to bailout Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, $29 billion for Bear Stearns, $85 billion for AIG, $700 billion for Wall Street, $25 billion for automakers, and $247.5 billion for Citigroup,” Congressman Jones said. “Yet instead of driving economic growth, these bailouts have done nothing but fuel public anger over how these institutions are spending the taxpayers’ money.”
“Bailout after bailout, the American taxpayer gets put on the hook again and again,” Jones continued. “There seems to be no recognition by government officials that many taxpayers face just as difficult of an environment as the financial institutions they are being forced to bailout – the kind of bailout for which individuals and small business are ineligible to apply.”
“Without a doubt, our country is in serious economic turmoil. But passing massive government bailouts at the expense of the American taxpayer and future generations is not the proper solution. Applying bailout band-aids merely rewards the executives and companies who have broken their promises and helped put our economy in its current sorry state – it doesn’t address the root of our nation’s economic problems,” Jones said. “For this reason, I’m proud to join Congressman Tiahrt in his call for Congress to help American workers and businesses achieve long-term prosperity through incentives for private-sector solutions instead of government bailouts. I hope many more of our congressional colleagues will join us in saying, ‘No more bailouts!’”
