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Dear Retire@60:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. This is a matter of serious concern, and I appreciate hearing your views on the subject. I am confident that there are things we can do to fix this economic crisis.



I voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 because it violated the views and the interests of the Texans who sent me here to represent them. As a conservative, I know that more freedom and more opportunity built America , not more government, more spending and more debt. This bill would have allowed the national debt limit to be raised by $1.5 trillion without creating a way to pay for it.



This was certainly not an easy vote. Though the compromise bill wasn't all bad, its final version failed to give taxpayers the protection they deserve. Republicans worked very hard to improve the plan by including more taxpayer protections than previous plans and eliminating the money grab by liberal social welfare programs.



In the end I concluded that too much of the plan that was presented to Congress flew in the face of good sense and good government. A government that turns to taxpayers to bail out enormous businesses from the consequences of bad decisions encourages other enormous businesses to make new bad decisions. Every day, small businesses cope with the possibility of failing if they make poor business decisions. It is important that we ensure Wall Street is not exempt from facing the same consequences. No business should be too big to fail.



I understand that Wall Street's financial crisis is no less real because it was self-created. It demands action, and we plainly need to restore confidence in the markets. However, we can't put the entire cost of the solution on the backs of working Americans who are not responsible for the problem. Though I don't believe this ill-conceived piece of legislation is the answer, I do believe there can be a solution to this problem. Both Democrats and Republicans should now come together to develop a plan that places the economic security of everyday America above all else.



As Congress moves forward to address our economic crisis, I am committed to working with my colleagues to develop a comprehensive piece of legislation to address our economic problems. I encourage you to visit my website at http://joebarton.house.gov, which I will update with additional information as the process moves forward. Thank you again for taking the time to contact me. Please do not hesitate to keep me informed of issues that are important to you.

Sincerely,

Joe Barton
Member of Congress