Averts $1.5 trillion national debt
The Ellis County Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Joe Barton, R-Ennis, helped sink a massive bailout of Wall Street banks, thanks in large part to constituents in his district that stretches from Ellis County to southeast Texas.
"I voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 because it violated the views and the interests of the Texans who sent me here to represent their views and their interests," Barton said after his vote in the 228-205 tally. "I’m a conservative. I know that more freedom and more opportunity built America, not more government, more spending and more debt.
"Most of the people of [Congressional District 6] know that even better than I do because they live it every day."
Barton said he was asked by the GOP leadership, mainly from the White House, to "bend my beliefs, forget my promises and ignore my people."
"My fellow Republicans joined me voting against this massive bailout by a 2 to 1 margin," Barton said, who was first elected in 1984.
Southern Dallas County’s congressional representative, Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, voted for the bailout. Several Ellis County towns reach into Johnson’s district.
"This was no easy vote," Barton said. "The compromise bill wasn’t all bad, but in its final version, it failed to give taxpayers the protection they deserve.
"Republicans worked very hard to improve the bailout plan by including more taxpayer protections than previous plans and eliminating the money grab by liberal social welfare programs.
"There are other things we can do to fix this financial crisis – things that won’t cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. Ideas we could pursue include forcing the people being bailed out to bear a majority of the costs, eliminating the capital gains tax for three years to encourage economic growth and suspending mandatory market to market accounting rules.
"This bill would have allowed the national debt limit to be raised by $1.5 trillion without creating a way to pay for it. Imagine if you ran your personal finances in the same manner."
