Rep. Edwards Defends Vote For Bailout, But Admits It’s ‘Not Necessarily The Best Proposal’

In an interview with ThinkProgress today, Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX) discussed why he is supporting the financial bailout package. Last Monday, he was one of the 205 House members to vote for the bailout legislation. Edwards said he’s “disgusted” that Congress now has to deal with the fallout of deregulation, but noting the “potential for a deep recession,” he argued that there is now an urgency to act:

I wish we had more time to look at other alternatives because I’m not convinced this is necessarily the best proposal. What I do know given the potential threat that we could on the edge of an economic cliff, that Democrats in Congress led by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid provided more protections for taxpayers so that hopefully in the end they won’t have to pay $700 billion net cost for these assets.

Edwards noted that he was one of only 57 House members who voted against the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999. “That’s the very bill that planted the seed for the problems that we’re facing today,” he said. “And I believe if I had prevailed in my vote that day in 1999, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“I don’t want one dime to go to these greedy Wall Street executives that drove their countries into the tank, and in doing so, hurt our entire country’s economy,” Edwards said. “But I do think we need to stabilize the credit markets,” noting that loans for automobiles, car sales, student loans, and home mortgages are freezing up. Watch it:

Edwards said his primary concern in voting for the bill is to stave off a possible recession. “My attitude is if you look at history the people who are hurt the most by recession are not the wealthiest. They can sell one of their seven houses. They can draw down their multi-million dollar bank accounts and use their golden parachutes. … The day to day working folks are usually the first to be laid off.”