For Immediate Release: November 19, 2009
Contact: Ryan Hobart (573) 636-5241 Ext. 125
The Latest: Congressman Blunt Now “Concerned” About Wall Street Bailout, Forgetting He Made it Happen
“I am for it, but am also against it” approach shows why 65% of Missourians see Congressman Blunt as “Part of the Problem”
Jefferson City, MO – One year after Congressman Roy Blunt played a key role in passing a $700 billion bailout for his Wall Street friends, Roy Blunt says he is “concerned” about who is responsible for it. Luckily, he won’t have to look much further than his Washington insider record to find the answer – he is. Blunt voted to deregulate Wall Street which helped create the “too-big-to-fail” institutions like AIG, and then when they had gambled away Missourians’ hard earned savings, he voted to give Wall Street a hand out to the tune of $700 billion.
“This is like an arsonist talking about the importance of smoke alarms and exactly why 65% of Missourians see Congressman Blunt as part of the problem in Washington” said Brian Zuzenak, Executive Director of the Missouri Democratic Party. “If he wants to know who is responsible, Congressman Blunt should look in the mirror. Congressman Blunt voted to let Wall Street run wild and then voted to bail them out, leaving Missourians holding the bag. And now he wants to ask questions – the hypocrisy is incredible.”
The Real Congressman Blunt:
St Louis Post Dispatch: “Blunt Has Been A Reliable Pro-Banking Industry Vote”: “Mr. Blunt was in Congress throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s when, during both Republican and Democratic administrations, the banks got everything they asked for, subsequently wrecking the economy. Mr. Blunt has been a reliable pro-banking industry vote, from repealing the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 to refusing to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages in 2009.” [St. Louis Post Dispatch editorial, 11/10/09]
Blunt Has Taken Over $2.8 Million from the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Industries: Over the course of his career, Blunt has taken $2,853,855 from the finance, insurance and real estate industry, including the $1,653,699 he has taken from their industry PACs. This includes $635,000 from the securities & investment industry and $506,000 from the commercial banking industry. [Center for Responsive Politics, Accessed 8/12/09]
Blunt Voted to Pass Landmark Wall Street Deregulation Bill – Which Opponents Predicted “Could Lead To An Economic Crisis Down The Road.” In 1999, Blunt voted to pass the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which allowed traditional banks to merge with insurance companies and investment Houses – as they had before the passage of the Glass Steagall Act during the Depression. The New York Times wrote at the time that, “opponents of the measure gloomily predicted that by unshackling banks and enabling them to move more freely into new kinds of financial activities, the new law could lead to an economic crisis down the road when the marketplace is no longer growing briskly.” [Vote 570, 11/04/99; New York Times, 11/5/99]
- The “Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act … helped pave the way for companies such as AIG and Lehman Brothers to become behemoths laden with bad loans and investments,” according to the Washington Post, last year. [9/17/08]
- “If Glass-Steagall was never torn down, we’d never have this problem,” said industry expert Paul Muolo, executive editor of National Mortgage News and author of Chain of Blame — How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis. [Las Vegas Sun, 9/18/08]
Blunt Voted For $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout — TWICE. In October 2008, Blunt voted not once – but twice – in favor of the $700 billion financial rescue package championed by former President Bush and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. After the bill was defeated in the face of public outrage and opposition from his fellow Republicans, then Minority Whip Roy Blunt took the lead in convincing rejectionist Republicans to support the bailout. Though the bill ultimately passed 263-171, 108 Republicans, including Missouri Reps. Akin and Graves and former Rep. Kenny Hulshof, voted “no.” [HR 1424, Vote #681, 10/3/08; HR 3997, Vote #674, 9/29/09]
· Blunt Key Negotiator On Financial Bailout Package. Blunt was a key House negotiator on the financial bailout package, working closely with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. On October 1st, Congressional Quarterly reported that “Hoyer said he and Blunt, who has emerged as the GOP leadership’s point man in trying to get a recovery bill passed, had spoken by phone ‘three, four five times today.’ [CQ Today, 10/1/08]
· Blunt: According to Secretary Paulson, Wall Street Rescue Bill Doomed To Fail Until Sen. Gregg And I “Stepped Up And Made It Happen.” During an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Blunt said Paulson had credited Blunt and Sen. Judd Gregg for making sure the TARP legislation passed. Asked “what would be a couple of high points as a leader,” Blunt said, “And then of course, I had (Treasury Secretary) Hank Paulson tell me on the phone last night that this rescue effort (for the $700 billion financial rescue) appeared not to be happening “until you and (New Hampshire Sen.) Judd Gregg stepped up and made it happen.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/23/08]
Congressman Blunt, Senator Chuck Purgason and Kansas City auto consultant Mark Memoly are competing in the August 2010 primary for the Republican nomination for US Senate
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