In case you’re wondering where your elected Congressional representatives and senators land on the federal bail-out proposal for the financial sector, rest assured that all six members of the Arkansas delegation are more or less on board for some sort of federal action, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.
Among the various members, kudos to Rep. Vic Snyder for sounding the most like an adult in attempting to offer a cogent explanation for why action may be needed:
Speed is of the essence, said Rep. Vic Snyder, a Democrat. Congress needs to “lance the boil,” he said, in order to avoid a prolonged economic slump.He noted that Japan faced a similar situation in the 1990s. Failure by that country’s government to act as companies began to sink resulted in what Snyder referred to as “the lost decade,” when Japan’s economic might withered.But he worried that Congress would get hung up on executive compensation, which he considered “a detail,” of much broader legislation.While he argued that it “would not be helpful” if financial services industry executives weren’t frugal, he said the overall aim of preventing a prolonged financial slump was too important to get derailed over a fight on executive pay.“We need to be sure the tail doesn’t wag the dog,” Snyder said.
Sen. Mark Pryor and Rep. John Boozman both emphasize that while something needs to be done, Washington can’t just “throw a bunch of money at it.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Blanche Lincoln calls for “more oversight and accountability” in a letter to Senate Banking Committee members, the AP reports.
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