Nelson will back bailout package
OMAHA — Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson says he’s not happy about it, but he intends to vote for the $700 billion financial bailout package.
The Senate measure faces a crucial vote Wednesday night.
The Democrat said during a teleconference with reporters that his choice isn’t a pleasant one.
“It’s like putting a pretty bow on a skunk. The skunk still stinks,” Nelson said.
Although Nebraskans and their banks have been prudent and generally avoided the excesses elsewhere in the country, Nelson said, the credit crunch is already affecting the state and its businesses.
“It is a domino situation any way you look at it,” Nelson said. “We’re an island, and the waters are rising.”
Nelson recounted a letter he said he’d received from a Gering company owner who was worried about access to operating capital, money he needed for payroll and other operating expenses as he awaited payment for his products.
“When credit disappears, let me tell you, that’s when jobs are lost,” Nelson said.
The senator said he doesn’t want Nebraskans to have to “feel the pain to understand why the remedy is important.”
He said he understands the public outcry against the bailout package.
“I understand there are those who are not sympathetic to Wall Street, and I’m one of them,” Nelson said.
“If it only ended with them ... I’d say, ’Write off your losses. You deserve it.“’
But he repeated his concerns about the immediate credit crunch and the investment and retirement fund losses that hit hard at middle Americans. He said immediate action was necessary, if lamentable.
“For those who think we have a choice, I wish they could be right,” Nelson said.
The legislation would let the federal government buy bad mortgages and other deficient assets held by troubled financial institutions. Advocates of the plan say it would help lift a major weight off the already sputtering national economy.
On Monday, Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska said he intended to vote for the measure, too.
“It will not solve all the problems,” Hagel said, “However, it will be important in helping our markets regain new confidence, which is the essence of economic stability.”
The Senate measure faces a crucial vote Wednesday night.
The Democrat said during a teleconference with reporters that his choice isn’t a pleasant one.
“It’s like putting a pretty bow on a skunk. The skunk still stinks,” Nelson said.
Although Nebraskans and their banks have been prudent and generally avoided the excesses elsewhere in the country, Nelson said, the credit crunch is already affecting the state and its businesses.
“It is a domino situation any way you look at it,” Nelson said. “We’re an island, and the waters are rising.”
Nelson recounted a letter he said he’d received from a Gering company owner who was worried about access to operating capital, money he needed for payroll and other operating expenses as he awaited payment for his products.
“When credit disappears, let me tell you, that’s when jobs are lost,” Nelson said.
The senator said he doesn’t want Nebraskans to have to “feel the pain to understand why the remedy is important.”
He said he understands the public outcry against the bailout package.
“I understand there are those who are not sympathetic to Wall Street, and I’m one of them,” Nelson said.
“If it only ended with them ... I’d say, ’Write off your losses. You deserve it.“’
But he repeated his concerns about the immediate credit crunch and the investment and retirement fund losses that hit hard at middle Americans. He said immediate action was necessary, if lamentable.
“For those who think we have a choice, I wish they could be right,” Nelson said.
The legislation would let the federal government buy bad mortgages and other deficient assets held by troubled financial institutions. Advocates of the plan say it would help lift a major weight off the already sputtering national economy.
On Monday, Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska said he intended to vote for the measure, too.
“It will not solve all the problems,” Hagel said, “However, it will be important in helping our markets regain new confidence, which is the essence of economic stability.”
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