CAPE MAY — Dave Kurkowski, Democratic challenger to incumbent Frank LoBiondo, reacted to the Wednesday, Sept. 24 speech by President Bush and the massive $700 billion bailout plan he is attempting to steamroll through Congress.
In a release he stated, “I join with the growing majority of legislators, from both parties, in calling for more careful consideration of this proposal—specifically the need for greater oversight of how these billions of taxpayer dollars will be spent. The Bush administration has a record of abusing blank checks—just look at Iraq. We literally cannot afford to write them another one. Our economy cannot bear it. We must build more accountability into any bailout package.”
Kurkowski also pointed out a vote by his opponent, in 1999, to repeal regulation put in place after the Great Depression to prevent investment firms from engaging in the kinds of dealings that have led us to the current crisis. The Glass-Steagall Act, passed in 1933, limited the mixing of “commercial” and “investment” banks—between what we now refer to as the activities of “bankers” and “brokers.”
The measure was intended to prevent the risks of securities investments interfering with confidence in consumer deposits, a conflict at the heart of the current meltdown.
“Frank LoBiondo voted to repeal this law in 1999, to eliminate government oversight of the financial sector that was put in place after the Great Depression,” Kurkowski said.
“Both of our Senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, voted to maintain the oversight. If I had been in Congress, I would have voted with them, not with my opponent. What we’re seeing now in the financial markets is the end result of the failed policies LoBiondo has been rubber stamping for 14 years.”
Kurkowski commented on President Bush’s speech with no enthusiasm.
“Frankly, I do not know whether the president fully understands the situation, beyond its potential for exploiting peoples’ fears,” Kurkowski said. “As Sen. Chris Dodd said last night, the President failed to mention that this situation is the result of his failed policies, that ‘the cops weren’t on the beat.’ Like so many in the other party—including my opponent—the President does not want to talk about accountability. He does not want to talk about regulation and oversight. You know, the President repeatedly used the term ‘rescue’ last night. What we need to talk about is responsibility.”
The release continued, “Kurkowski, a successful businessman, also noted the ironies of a would-be conservative president proposing what many leading conservatives, such as former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, have characterized as a socialist-styled government takeover of private enterprise.”
“The ideologues have had their day,” Kurkowski said. “Blind faith in the markets does not work, any more than total government control works. Our economy has prospered best when the checks and balances of government and the entrepreneurial energy of the private sector work productively alongside each other. We must not allow blind ideology to rule the day. My opponent bears direct responsibility for his vote nine years ago, which undid reforms put in place after the Great Depression. I hope and pray we do not follow his lead as we face this current crisis.”
