Sen. Inhofe Introduces Bill to Halt Bailout Funds Handout (Blasts Congress & Paulson)

Sen. James Inhofe Official Site:
Sen. Inhofe Introduces Bill to Halt Handout of Bailout Funds (S. 3683)
- - 11.17.08 ABSTRACT, Washington DC: Today, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced legislation to amend Section 115 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) to require an affirmative vote on the part of Congress to approve Treasury's plan for the remaining $350 billion and require a freeze on any remaining funds of the first $350 billion, stating, "It is imperative that we not allow that amount of money to be added to a deficit approaching $1 trillion this year without any input from the legislative branch." In a speech on the Senate Floor, Senator Inhofe went on to say, "Congress completely abdicated its responsibility by signing a truly blank check over to the Treasury Secretary. However, the lame duck session of Congress offers us a tremendous opportunity to change course. We should take it." "Though there are still significant challenges in financial markets, it appears that the threat of financial crisis spinning so out of control that we face another Great Depression-which was the original justification for the grant of such sweeping authority-has subsided. Has the need to allow one person to control hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars and spend as he sees fit subsided as well? I've never seen in my entire career of public service anything like the spectacle we are now witnessing. Is it unreasonable to ask whether or not the additional $350 billion should not be added to a deficit approaching $1 trillion? Congress should have a debate."

11.15.08: Roll Back the Bailout – Inhofe Lays Out Legislative Plan for Lame Duck Session
- - WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), in a letter to his Senate colleagues, laid out his plan to push for legislation that will require Secretary Paulson's plan for the remaining $350 billion in authorized Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to be ratified by an affirmative vote in the U.S. Congress. In the letter, Senator Inhofe writes that the lame duck session provides Congress a tremendous opportunity to change course.

S. 3683: A bill to amend the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act to require approval by the Congress for certain expenditures for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Sponsor: Sen James M Inhofe (R-OK) Inroduced 11/17/2008 Co-Sponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 11/17/2008 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

11.18.08 Tulsa World: Jim Inhofe Proposes Freeze on some Bailout Funds
- - U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said Monday if Congress does not act now the rest of the $700 billion in bailout funds could be spent before lawmakers return in January. "We are sitting around twiddling our thumbs, doing nothing,'' the Oklahoma Republican said, referring to a debate about which committee has jurisdiction. "We had better do it now or it is going to be too late. We will be out of here, and it will be history by the time we get back here in January.'' Inhofe introduced legislation Monday to freeze what is left of the first $350 billion and require an "affirmative" vote by lawmakers before the second half of the bailout funds could be spent. "Congress completely abdicated its responsibility by signing a truly blank check over to the Treasury secretary,'' said Inhofe, who voted against the bailout legislation. "However, the lame-duck session of Congress offers us a tremendous opportunity to change course. We should take it.''

11.17.08 Senate Video: Sen. James Inhofe Introduces Senate Bill 3683 Bill
11.18.08 Videos (6): Inhofe discussing S.3683 issues, and more, on both FOX and CNN programs Last night he was on CNN’s Lou Dobbs. Video will be added later.

###### CNN TRANSCRIPT #######

CNN “Lou Dobbs Tonight” Transcript
Kitty Pilgrim, Guest Anchor
Aired Tuesday, November 18, 2008

PILGRAM: Tonight Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson faces blistering criticism from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. One of those lawmakers, Senator Jim Inhofe is my guest. Senator Jim Inhofe says Congress completely abdicated its responsibility by agreeing to a blank check for Wall Street.

PILGRIM: Angry lawmakers showed just how fed up they are with the Bush administration’s handling of the federal bailout. They are trying to take control of the program. Many Democrats and Republicans say the bailout has been shrouded in secrecy and no one is being held accountable. Lisa Sylvester has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some lawmakers are calling it like they see it saying Secretary Henry Paulson doesn’t have a clue how to staunch the financial crisis.

PILGRIM: As Lisa reported Congress is demanding oversight. Senator Jim Inhofe says congress signed a blank check to the Treasury Department, and now he is working to correct that. Senator Inhofe today introduced legislation that will require congressional approval for spending the remaining bailout funds. And he joins me now.
Senator Inhofe, you voted twice against this. Now you want action. Why are you so convinced that this is the way to go?

SEN. JIM INHOFE (R), OKLAHOMA: Well, first of all, Kitty, when it first came up, I opposed it. And I opposed it because if you read the bill that we passed, it didn’t say — even though the secretary of the Treasury was talking about using it to buy up damaged assets — that is not what it said. It said $700 billion, and as it turns out for anything that he wants. Now, I am very critical of him because of that. And now we don’t know for sure what — I only found out today, and here I am a senior member of the United States Senate, how much money is left of that $350 billion. It is about $60 billion. So I have introduced a bill, and it’s called Senate bill 3683, and it would freeze any further spending. And if you look at just what’s left now in the $350 billion that would come up, I’m very much disturbed because there is a process to enter into that, to access that $350 billion. That means that if we are not here in session, then it would be done unilaterally by the Treasury Department. When in the history of America has one unelected person had the control of a massive amount of money like this? Total control to do with whatever he wishes?

PILGRIM: You make a fair point, sir. And — but they say special circumstances call for special measures. Let me just bring up what Secretary Paulson said. He testified before the House Financial Services Committee today. And let’s listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: The Treasury, the Fed and the FDIC have stabilized our financial system. The authorities in the TARP have been used to strengthen our financial system and to prevent the harm to our economy and financial system from the failure of a systemically important institution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PILGRIM: He says this is working. Is it not dangerous to slam on the brakes suddenly?

INHOFE: Well, no, he has actually said that the markets have stabilized. And if they stabilized, why do we need to leave $350 — well, actually, more than $350 billion out there for someone to spend, without any oversight? Let’s keep in mind — this has never been done before. There has always been some type of oversight, congressional oversight or otherwise. Now there is none whatsoever. And so, one of two things can happen. When we peel out of here on Friday or whenever Harry Reid lets us go, we are going to be adjourned. That means that we are not going to be there to stop him if he wants to access another $350 billion. Now, the other possibility is, it will go off to the next administration. That is a scary thought, to think that the Obama administration is going have $350 billion sitting out there to do whatever they want to do with. I’m very much concerned about it. I think our only chance to stop this thing is my legislation. And I doubt seriously that Harry Reid will allow it to get on the floor.

PILGRIM: Why are you concerned about the next administration having some weapons to fight whatever they need to fight in the financial crisis?

INHOFE: Because I think, judging from the rhetoric that we got during the Obama campaign, it will just go off to meet some of the obligations — some of things that he said he was going to do, having nothing to do with the economy. It’s just a blank check that is sitting out there, $350 billion.

PILGRIM: Well, certainly a blank check was the cause of concern right from the beginning on this. You know, we should point out that there was a very dramatic reversal by Secretary Paulson last week, where he just said that toxic assets — buying up toxic assets wasn’t necessary, a complete reversal. Are you worried about the direction that this money is being spent in, or do you feel that there is no direction?

INHOFE: Well, I’m just saying this — in the two weeks prior to the October 1st vote, all we heard from Secretary Paulson was, it has to be assets, we’ve got to buy up the assets, it has to be done. That is what the money is going to be used for. Everyone believed it, and that is the reason that so many of the people voted for it. Then it wasn’t that at all. It is just whatever he wants to do. And again, this has never happened before. And I think it has to have some oversight. Right now, all they are talking about in Congress is, well, what will be — what are we going to do about having a new inspector being — watching what is going on? It is too late to talk about that, because my belief is, by — another month from now, the money will be gone.

PILGRIM: You know, I really have to get your thoughts on the big three automakers. They are appealing for $25 billion. What do you think of that?

INHOFE: Well, that’s what I said — back when I opposed this bill, I said, you wait. There are going to be other people in line. They are going to be watching. Yes, we are going to bail out the banks. So let’s get in line there, and the next is the auto industry. And I even said this, and said, what about the aviation industry and everyone else? Is that government’s responsibility to bail everyone out? And I think not. I think that would be a very bad thing to do. I think if we bailed out the auto industry, it wouldn’t change the management, it wouldn’t change the union contracts, the ones that really created the problem. So I think they are going to have to take some other route, at least with my vote.

PILGRIM: Thank you very much, Senator Jim Inhofe. Thank you, sir.

INHOFE: Thank you.

TAB

Biography: James Mountain “Jim” Inhofe
no one says quiet and shy

As a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, minority leader of the Oklahoma Senate, mayor of Tulsa, congressman from Oklahoma's First Congressional District, to his present role as Oklahoma's senior U.S. Senator, Jim has served Oklahomans with pride and honor. Simply put, no one consistently represents common sense, conservative Oklahoma values more than Jim.

Jim considers one of his unique qualifications for office to be the 30 years he's spent in the business community being over regulated by the federal bureaucracy. Throughout his political career, Jim has been a strong advocate for the principles of limited government, individual liberty, and personal responsibility. He believes that the federal government works best when it returns dollars, decisions, and freedom to our local communities and families.

During his tenure in Congress, Jim has forged a distinguished legislative record on a diverse range of issues: surface transportation and highway funding; environmental regulation and land management; strengthening and supporting America's national defense; rural education funding; and improving America's energy independence. In addition, Jim has sponsored legislation to reduce taxes and reform the tax code; reign in out of control federal bureaucracies; promote fiscal responsibility; and reform the way Congress works.

As chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Jim played a key role in passage of last year's Highway Bill, shepherding the important legislation through the U.S. Senate. By doing so, he ended Oklahoma's status as a ‘donor state' as Oklahoma will now receive more money than it sends to Washington in federal highway funding. This historic legislation also lessened the federal bureaucracy over highway trust funds by returning the decision-making process back to the states. Jim has also been a champion for restoring common sense and sound science to important environmental and regulatory issues like clean air mandates, wetlands, and endangered species.

From his post as the second ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jim has gained a reputation as an expert on defense and national security issues. Not only is Jim a strong supporter of Oklahoma's defense industry and military community, he has also been a tireless advocate for providing greater resources, the necessary equipment, and proper training to our military personnel fighting the War on Terror and combating global threats to our nation's security. Jim has been to Iraq and Afghanistan as much as any other member of Congress since the beginning of the War on Terror.

Jim is a reform-minded leader whose efforts to change the House of Representatives' arcane discharge petition rule brought him national attention and praise. The rule change eliminated much of the secrecy in the legislative process and prevented Congressional leaders from keeping popular bills bottled up in committee. Jim has taken that same approach to shine light on the workings of the United States Senate, by sponsoring legislation to end a Senator's ability to anonymously and indefinitely obstruct the Senate's consideration of nominations and legislation.

Jim was recently voted the "Most Outstanding Conservative U.S. Senator" by Human Events Newspaper and the American Conservative Union. He repeatedly receives various awards and recognitions, including the "Lifetime Service Award" from the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, the National Taxpayers Association's "Friends of the Taxpayer" Award, the "Hero of the Taxpayer Award" from Americans for Tax Reform, the American Farm Bureau's "Friend of the Farm Bureau" Award, the Center for Security Policy's "Keeper of the Flame" Award, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's "Spirit of Enterprise" Award, and an "A+" rating from the National Rifle Association.

Jim is a lifelong Oklahoman who grew up in Tulsa and graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in economics. He served in the U.S. Army and has been a small businessman working in aviation, real estate, and insurance for over 30 years. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1994 to complete the unexpired term of Senator David Boren, who resigned to become president of the University of Oklahoma. Jim was re-elected in 1996 and again in 2002.

Inhofe has been married 47 years to his wife, Kay, and has four grown children and twelve grandchildren. During his service in Washington, he commutes back home to Oklahoma almost every weekend.

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