Barkley on the "bailout"

A press release from yesterday.

Barkley Says 'No' to Immediate Action on Bail-Out Bill
'The last time we rushed into an election-year solution we got the Iraq War,' Barkley Says

For Immediate Release
Contact: Christopher Truscott
ctruscott@senatorbarkley.com

PLYMOUTH—Dean Barkley, the Independence Party candidate for U.S. Senate, said today that Congress should not vote on a bail-out package before adjourning at the end of the month.

"The last time we rushed into an election-year 'solution' we got the Iraq War and I don't think the American people want to see us go down that path again," Barkley said. "Being right is far more important than being fast. We owe it to people throughout our country to take time to make sure we get this right rather than enacting rushed and potentially flawed legislation for the sake of showing action."

While the stock market has been volatile and major Wall Street players like AIG have floundered in recent weeks, there are signs that business is continuing as it should in other areas without government intervention.

Over the past week and a half, Barclay's purchased the Lehman Brothers trading desk, Bank of America purchased Merrill Lynch, Berkshire Hathaway invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group invested up to $8.4 billion in Morgan Stanley; and the financial arm of Caterpillar was oversubscribed on its $1.3 billion corporate bond sale.

"I've spent the last two days talking to a lot of smart people on this issue, but I can still admit there's so much we simply don't know right now," Barkley said. "There's no doubt that we're going through an extremely rough stretch, but before rushing to a solution, let's take a step back and make sure we're not creating more problems."

"As long as the Fed is still able to provide adequate liquidity as 'lender of last resort,' and credit is still flowing to qualified borrowers, I don't see a need for immediate action," Barkley added.

If current economic signals reverse course, the Fed's liquidity measures fall short or credit to qualified borrowers slows considerably, lawmakers can come back from recess and address it with the added insight of constituent reactions.

"Everyone is worried about the economy, including me," Barkley said. "But the worst thing Congress can do right now is rush through a massive bail-out bill before adjourning in just a few days. Let's take a while to breathe, talk to voters over the next month and get a better handle on how the economic indicators are shaking out before we hand over hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to Wall Street titans."



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Barkley, a 58-year-old Minnesota native, served as the director of the Minnesota Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning under Gov. Jesse Ventura. In November 2002, Ventura appointed Barkley to fill the final two months of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone's term.

The former governor said recently that Barkley is "measured minute by minute … the most effective U.S. senator in Minnesota history."

More information is available online at www.senatorbarkley.com.