Rothman votes 'no' on revised bailout package

After voting against the $700 billion bailout package earlier in the week, U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman repeated what he described as his good conscience "nay" vote this afternoon.

"First, I won’t be steamrolled into spending hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money on an approach that will not solve the economic problems we face," Rothman said in a statement. "A vote against this bill is not a vote for inaction. I am prepared to stay in Washington as long as it takes, knowing that infinitely better solutions are right at hand and can be implemented immediately to properly address liquidity, home mortgage failures and the urgent need for a sizable economic stimulus package."

Having passed Wednesday evening in the Senate with the support of both U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park), the revamped bailout bill moved back to the House today, where it also passed by a vote of he measure passed, 263-171.

But Rothman dug in against the bill, arguing that without it, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Treasury Secretary already have the power to immediately provide liquidity and additional capital to our nation’s banks by guaranteeing to protect all general creditors of FDIC banks.

"Congress," Rothman said, "should allocate a multi-billion expenditure to recreate a new Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, which allowed the restructuring of mortgages for a quarter of American homeowners in the 1930’s, to address the true, foundational problem of Wall Street’s holding of illiquid, ‘toxic’ mostly residential mortgages. Finally, Congress should pass this week a robust economic stimulus package to rebuild our nation’s roads, rails, bridges and tunnels. This would create millions of good paying new jobs, improve our country’s vital but crumbling infrastructure and still avoid the additional deficit spending of several hundred billion dollars of taxpayer money that is wasted in the present bailout bill."