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Putnam Only Bay Area Lawmaker To Support Bailout

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By BILLY HOUSE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 30, 2008

WASHINGTON - Freshman Rep. Kathy Castor was among 95 House Democrats to buck Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday by joining with 133 Republicans to defeat a $700 billion financial rescue bill.

Rep. Adam Putnam, the third-ranking House Republican, was the only Tampa Bay area lawmaker to vote for the measure. Democratic leaders said the House would reconvene Thursday, leaving open the possibility that it could salvage a reworked version.

Here's a rundown of what Castor, Putnam and other area representatives said in voting the way they did Monday.

SUPPORTED

•Adam Putnam of Bartow: "One bank after another failing, rolling out of New York, rolling out of Brussels, out of London, out of these places that seem so foreign into our Main Streets, into our merchant associations, into our farmer cooperatives," Putnam said. "You're watching this happen, so how could you as a member of Congress, in seeing that roll across the countryside, not do everything in your power to prevent it?"

AGAINST

•Kathy Castor of Tampa: Normally a sure Democratic vote on items pushed by Pelosi, she called the bill "the Bush plan" and said "it does not provide sufficient help to middle-class families in the housing squeeze or taxpayer protections." She said Congress should go back to the drawing board as soon as possible.

•Ginny Brown-Waite of Brooksville, a Republican, said, "This isn't legislation. This is extortion." She also said, "Make no mistake, a vote for this bailout is a vote to ratify business as usual in Washington."

•Gus Bilirakis of Palm Harbor, a freshman Republican, said the legislation "was not subject to the committee process which allows for full public revision and expert scrutiny. I could not support this plan because American taxpayers should not be forced to bail out our financial institutions. Congress and the administration must act to produce a prudent solution that restores financial security to all Americans while maintaining our faith in a free enterprise system."

•C.W. Bill Young of Indian Shores, a Republican, said Congress should take more time and hear more viewpoints to make sure it comes up with the right solution. "There have been no hearings, no opportunity for the public to review the ideas. We have a serious problem. We ought to have a serious answer."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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