By Admin1 (admin) (70.249.83.132) on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 2:22 pm: Edit Post |
As chairman of the Senate banking committee, Chris Dodd is in the middle of around-the-clock negotiations for the administration-requested bailout of the U.S. financial sector
Dodd said there are elements to the bailout that need to be there before he'll vote for it. He won't support a plan without limits to executive pay in the companies that take advantage of the help. He also demands strong oversight over the secretary of the Department of the Treasury, who will administer the program. The Connecticut senator was also frustrated over the distractions of a particular presidential candidate who jumped into the fray yesterday. "John McCain parachuted in and distracted the whole process," Dodd said. (Although, McCain is back to the campaign trail already, leaping out as quickly as he'd arrived.) Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic in the 1960's.
As chairman of the Senate banking committee, Chris Dodd is in the middle of around-the-clock negotiations for the administration-requested bailout of the U.S. financial sector
Dodd: 'Just Tell Me What Your Side Wants'
By Jesse A. Hamilton
September 26, 2008 11:41 AM |
Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Dodd AP.jpgSen. Chris Dodd hasn't been sleeping much. Four hours a night for the last eight days, he estimated in an interview with me this morning. As chairman of the Senate banking committee, the senator is in the middle of around-the-clock negotiations for the administration-requested bailout of the U.S. financial sector, and it's hit a snag.
"I'm furious over why we're where we are," Dodd said.
Republican members in the House have objected loudest to President Bush's $700 billion proposal. But Dodd said he didn't yet know exactly what they are asking for. "Just tell me what your side wants," he said. "I can't negotiate with myself."
Dodd argued that the administration should provide some leadership to that contingent. "This is a Republican White House," said Dodd. "That's not my job."
(The Republican leader of the House, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, sent a letter today to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi demanding that House Republican proposals be heard, but it didn't detail the proposals.)
Dodd said there are elements to the bailout that need to be there before he'll vote for it. He won't support a plan without limits to executive pay in the companies that take advantage of the help. He also demands strong oversight over the secretary of the Department of the Treasury, who will administer the program.
The Connecticut senator was also frustrated over the distractions of a particular presidential candidate who jumped into the fray yesterday. "John McCain parachuted in and distracted the whole process," Dodd said. (Although, McCain is back to the campaign trail already, leaping out as quickly as he'd arrived.)
During all these negotiations, Dodd is also trying to be respectful to Sen. Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the banking committee who Dodd has often worked closely with in the last year. Shelby doesn't like the bailout. So Dodd and other senators from both parties have had to work around him.
This morning, the White House was still hopeful that a deal could be struck.
"We have a lot of work to do, but I think things are heading in the right direction," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. She said the president will have one question of whatever bill is produced by the Congress: "Does this solve the problem?" If his financial advisors say the answer is Yes, he's satisfied.
Echoing what Bush has also been saying repeatedly (including this morning), she said, "It's important that we get it done as quickly as possible." Perino said that if an ongoing atmosphere persists in which financial firms don't trust each other enough to allow cash to flow through the system, "then we're going to have a complete and total financial collapse."
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Headlines: September, 2008; RPCV Chris Dodd (Dominican Republic); Figures; Peace Corps Dominican Republic; Directory of Dominican Republic RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Dominican Republic RPCVs; Politics; Congress; Election2008 - Dodd; Congress; Banking; Connecticut
When this story was posted in September 2008, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
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