Hampton Roads legislators explain votes against bailout

Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake

Forbes voted early in the 30-minute roll call and then closeted himself with a group of other lawmakers in the nearby offices of House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, among the bailout's most prominent supporters.

There was no arm-twisting, he said. The group, members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, were "praying for the country, Democrats and Republicans."

Forbes said his vote was motivated largely by concern that the plan would not restore confidence to the financial markets. A better solution, he said, may be to increase federal insurance to bank depositors.

In both parties, "most of us just want to make sure," Forbes added. "We realize we need to do something. We're prepared to stay here as long as we need to do it, but this is just too important for us to get it wrong."

Rep. Thelma Drake, R-Norfolk

Drake limited her comments to a three-paragraph written statement. She said her vote against the bailout was a rejection of "the false choice" its supporters offered of "doing this plan or doing nothing to solve the economic crisis."

Drake said Congress should be ordered back into session after the Rosh Hashanah holiday solely to focus on alternative proposals.

"A real solution to this problem will put the taxpayers first, require Wall Street to pay its fair share, and will address the root causes of this crisis," Drake added. She declined to answer questions.

Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News

Scott issued a statement calling the bill better than the Bush administration's original proposal but "not a good deal for taxpayers."

It should have included help for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages and provisions guaranteeing that the federal government would pay no more than the "fair value" of any securities purchased from troubled firms, he said in an interview. Without that, some assets would be bought at inflated prices, saddling the taxpayers with a loss, he warned.

To those who fear the bill's defeat means Congress may do nothing, Scott said, "They should be more afraid we might start buying $700 billion in assets and not know what we're buying."

Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland County

Wittman, whose district covers much of the Peninsula, said he voted no largely because of reservations about having the government purchase privately held securities.

Wittman said he was concerned that the Treasury might pay more for some securities than they're worth. He would have been more sympathetic to an approach that provided some form of federal insurance for troubled securities without having the government actually purchase them.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-Wilson, N.C.

The plan was "too risky and gives away too much without any guarantees that the problems will be corrected," Butterfield said. "While people talk about stabilizing the markets, we should be focused on stabilizing families and our rural communities."

Rep. Walter Jones, R-Farmville, N.C.

Jones, whose district covers the Outer Banks, did not issue a statement explaining his decision.

Dale Eisman, (703) 913-9872, dale.eisman@pilotonline.com Why local representatives voted "no" to the bailout plan: