DODD STATEMENT ON TREASURY'S IMPLEMENTATION OF FINANCIAL RESCUE PACKAGE

“I appreciate the Treasury Department’s willingness to adjust to the current situation in our financial markets.  I am also gratified that they listened to Congress when we insisted on including alternative strategies, such as liquidity injections, in the financial rescue legislation.  It is alarming to imagine how limited the Treasury’s options would be if Congress had not made substantial changes to their three page proposal. 

“While I believe that today’s announcement is the appropriate course of action, it is becoming increasingly apparent that a robust and aggressive program to stem the tide of foreclosures sweeping across the nation is critical to any policy to put our economy back on track.  I am concerned that we may have to wait until the next Administration before we have the real change in economic policy that our nation needs, but it is my sincere hope that Secretary Paulson collaborates with Chairman Bair to get this program up and running as soon as possible.  There is no legitimate reason why they would be unable to do so.  Secretary Paulson should be as quick to realize that the foreclosure issue is critical to solving our problems as he was in realizing that equity purchases were necessary.”

 

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