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Florida Senators at Odds on Bailout
Florida’s senators took opposing stands on the proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, speaking from the floor in the hour before the Senate was expected to approve the bill.
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson broke with his party’s leadership to oppose the bill, while Republican Sen. Mel Martinez emphasized the need to send a strong message of support to the House, which voted down the bailout on Monday.
Nelson said the bill sends the wrong signal to Wall Street.
“This bill rewards the banks and leaves the little person with the short end of the stick. And that is not right,” he said.
He added, “The bottom line is this bill forces taxpayers to bail out investment banks that caused the crisis in the first place.”
Nelson said it “saddens” him to oppose so many of his colleagues, and that he had hoped for a “better, more targeted” solution to the mortgage crisis.
He asked that financial institutions be required to refinance mortgages to prevent more foreclosures, rather than simply being encouraged to do so by the Treasury secretary.
Nelson previously stated his support for creating a FBI investigative unit dedicated to investigating rating agencies that placed inflated grades on securities backed by subprime mortgages.
Approaching the podium minutes after his Democratic counterpart, Martinez said the bill was imperfect but necessary, echoing the sentiments of several other senators who spoke before him.
He said he had talked with constituents in Florida that were being affected by the credit crisis, including one person that was unable to get a loan.
“The bank told him, ‘You’ve done everything right. We just don’t have the money ourselves,’” he said.
Martinez said he was aware of the animosity a lot of people feel about the bailout.
“I share their anger,” he said. “But at the same time, we’re here to solve problems and get things done.”
He emphasized the need for Congress to address the issue of poor regulation of the financial industry when it reconvenes.
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