Foxx Bailout Legislation Passes House

The following is from a press release from NC Congresswoman Virginia Foxx.

Foxx bailout legislation passes House
Legislation disapproves of second half of bailout

Washington, DC—H.J. Res 3, the legislation sponsored by Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05) that would remove Congressional approval for the second $350 billion of the $700 billion TARP bailout, passed the House of Representatives today.

The bipartisan legislation (H.J. Res. 3) passed the House by a vote of 270-155. The legislation is designed to take advantage of a provision in the 2008 bailout law that allows Congress to “disapprove” of the second half of the bailout.

“Since October when Congress granted the previous Administration unfettered access to a taxpayer-funded blank check, we have seen a steady stream of reports outlining the mismanagement, waste, and lack of oversight that was all too predictable during initial consideration of the TARP Megabank bailout,” Foxx said during debate on the legislation (Watch Foxx’s speech today on the House floor here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn_q1CrDlxA).

If taken up and passed by the U.S. Senate, H.J. Res. 3 would bring the TARP bailout to an end. According to the 2008 bailout law, Congress has the power to withhold the second half of the bailout—$350 billion—when the President requests the money. Foxx’s legislation does just that.

“Deliberation, patience, and prudence yielded to panic and the product of those poor decisions has led us to where we are today,” Foxx said. “As a result, the saying ‘Act in haste, repent in leisure’ has assumed a new and expensive meaning. That is why we must reject the wasteful spending of another $350 billion in taxpayer money.”