Barrett says he'll back plan
Upstate Republican says changes improve package
By Schuyler Kropf
AP
Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., talks Thursday with reporters about the financial market turmoil on Capitol Hill.
Economic necessity and tax breaks helped make a $700 billion banking system bailout attractive enough for U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C., to change his no vote to a yes.
Barrett, an Upstate Republican, said Thursday night he plans to vote for the package today. Barrett was the only member of the South Carolina delegation voting against it last week.
The 3rd District representative said the bill is better now with more safeguards for taxpayers and provisions to keep people from paying more taxes under the alternative minimum tax and from losing child tax credits.
Barrett says much more needs to be done. But instead of adding more financial system laws he would rather see more rigorous enforcement of what's already on the books.
The state's five other congressmen, three Republicans and two Democrats, seemed pretty definite in supporting the measure again, a survey of their offices showed.
"This is not about Wall Street; this is about your street," Democrat Jim Clyburn, whose 6th District includes parts of the Charleston region, said this week.
First District Republican Henry Brown, who also represents much of Charleston, reiterated his support, saying the Senate's improvements to the bill made it more attractive by raising the FDIC insurance limits from $100,000 to $250,000 and revising the alternative minimum tax so that millions won't get an unwelcome surprise on their upcoming federal tax returns.
"With any bill that you've got, there's enough in it to like; there's enough in it to hate. But I think overall, I'll be voting for it," he said.
Gov. Mark Sanford, himself a former Charleston congressman, said the country would be better off if Congress takes time to better vet the plan than to intervene in the market.
He also said the Bush administration was naive to have thought that a plan with $700 billion price tag would have sailed through the legislative process.
"I think the conservatives have gotten a bad rap on this," the governor told the media earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, the state's top economic forecaster said the stakes are high for the state and the country if Washington does not come to an agreement or if the plan doesn't get the bailout right.
"Wall Street and Main Street are essentially one street in terms of the economic impact of what is going on in Washington today," said John Rainey, chairman of the state Board of Economic Advisors. "This credit crisis needs to be resolved as expediently and sensibly as possible."
Rainey added that no matter what happens, the crisis will eventually pass.
"It is still 'morning in America,' " he said. "There are some pretty heavy clouds over the sunrise right now, but it is still morning. They will dissipate as storm clouds always do."
The Associated Press and staff writer Robert Behre contributed to this report.
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Comments
mcautodoc (anonymous) says...
So the gang of six (along with the gange of 2 senators) has now all gone over to the "dark side". We can only hope and pray the state voters in each of their districts will make them pay for this vote for socialism.
"Socialism is at the heart of the twentieth century's totalist experiments, whether in Lenin's Russia, Mussolini's Italy, or Hitler's Germany; in Mao Zedong's China, Castro's Cuba, or Kim II Sung's North Korea. Wherever it has been tried it has failed; in Britain as in Sweden as in India. The degrees of failure vary in proportion to the intensity of its' application."
Brian Crozier, The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire.
October 3, 2008 at 5:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
NativeSon (anonymous) says...
Gee, add a little pork to the deal and it is business as usual on capital hill!
Same old garbage - Demo-craps and Republi-cons alike are out to ruin this ONCE great nation and the rank and file American public is letting it happen.
Wake up and smell the coffee! Stop electing politicians and other thieves to represent you because as we have observed, once in office their promises mean nothing!
Case in point: a huge majority of Americans is against amnesty while both obama and mccain have declared emphatically that within 100 days in office they WILL create amnesty for the outrageous criminals who have forced their way across our porous border.
If you think these politicos give a damn about you or your children or this country then you are about as disgusting as a fart in church.
The inner circle of the demo-crap party has as their primary long range objective the over throw of morality, spirituality, self-defence and the very core of democracy with the intent to replace it with socialistic ideology.
How is this being done you ask? systematically through the brain washing educative process of public schools. Have you noticed the heirarchy of public schools? The teachers unions are focused demo-craps with one thought - the "education" of your children.
Don't take my word for it, do the research!
October 3, 2008 at 7:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
crankyyankee (anonymous) says...
This bill went from three pages to over four hundred and no one seems to know what's in it, yet it needs to be passed right now! Give me a break. We didn't get in this mess overnight and we won't get out of it overnight! Thank you for voting no Jim DeMint.
October 3, 2008 at 8:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
outrage (anonymous) says...
I am voting for anyone like Jim Demint. I wish we had a boatload of people like him.
October 3, 2008 at 10:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JohnS (anonymous) says...
Demint for President.
October 3, 2008 at 11:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kontact (anonymous) says...
Im having a hard time here in west ashley. Could anyone offer me a bailout. Just a couple hundred thousand. I promise I will put it back into the economy. There is his new mercedes 550 that I really want. What do yall think they are going to do with the 700 billion. At least I would spend it here in the local economy
October 3, 2008 at 1:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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