Foxx Pushes Bill to Cut Wall Street Bailout in Half

Wed, November 19, 2008 - 5:15 PM

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., introduced a bill Wednesday to cut in half the $700 billion Wall Street bailout package.

Under the program, which was designed to shore up the financial system by allowing the government to purchase toxic mortgage-backed securities, the Treasury Department has injected nearly $290 billion into troubled banks.

If Treasury wants to spend more than $350 billion, it must submit another request to Congress. If that happens, it would trigger a vote on the legislation introduced by Foxx, which would deny that request.

"From the beginning, I thought what they were doing was wrong," said Foxx, who, joined most conservatives in voting against the bailout. "I didn't think it would work. They've compounded the problem by not following what they said they would do."

Critics of the program complain that it has failed to loosen frozen credit markets, as troubled banks have been reluctant to increase lending to consumers despite the injection of cash.

The administration signaled this week that it would likely not return to Congress to request access to the full $700 billion before President Bush's term ends in January, according to reports.

--Sean Mussenden