Whitfield 'reluctantly' opposed bailout package

U.S. Rep. Ed WhitfieldU.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Hopkinsville) joined 132 fellow Republicans and 95 Democrats - including both from Kentucky's Congressional delegation - in opposing today's economic bailout package in a vote on the floor of the U.S. House.

In a statement released today, Whitfield said he "reluctantly decided to oppose" the legislation for several enumerated reasons.

Whitfield argued the $700 billion planned bailout "would weaken our government's financial status" by adding to the national debt.

Whitfield also took a statistical approach to the financial fluctuations, citing an recent FDIC report he said indicated "only 1.6% of our nation’s banks have a financial problem."

The structure of the bailout legislation itself was also criticized by the Republican from western Kentucky. Whitfield argued the package needed a "limit" on "overall executive compensation," while claiming the authority granted to the Secretary of the Treasury in the bill was "unprecedented."

Whitfield also objected to what he speculated would be an "overly complex" bureaucracy created by the bill that needed a way "to clarify the real values of the mortgage based securities that have caused the problem."

The Hopkinsville Republican proposed three alternative measures he said were "less costly" solutions.

Whitfield recommended that "net worth certificates" be approved by Congress, thereby creating financial instruments that could be used as assets by struggling financial insitutions to meet federal legal requirements.

Whitfield also suggested accounting rules put in place by the SEC and the Financial Accounting Standards Board be temporarily suspended, thereby lifting restrictions requiring financial instruments be priced based at market rates.

"This sounds unreasonable, but because of the collapse of a market for these securities, they must be listed at a severely depressed price that causes the institutions to be placed at risk of failure," said Whitfield.

The Congressman also recommended more funds be released by the Federal Reserve Board.

“These steps alone would stop the bleeding and give us time to solve this crisis in a more deliberate time frame. We do not need to make decisions of this magnitude with incomplete information and under duress," concluded Whitfield's statement.