NEW REPORT: Congressman ‘Bailout’ Blunt’s $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout Paid Bank Execs Billions | Robin Carnahan: Missouri Secretary of State

NEW REPORT: Congressman ‘Bailout’ Blunt’s $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout Paid Bank Execs Billions July 23rd 2010

Blunt’s Bill Let Wall Street Dole Out Billions in "Unmerited", "Ill-Advised", and "Haphazard" Bonuses

The New York Times today reported that Wall Street "paid eye-popping amounts or used haphazard criteria for awarding bonuses" after Congressman Blunt led the charge to pass the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. True to his record of standing up for corporate special interests, Congressman Blunt not only led the charge to give $700 billion in taxpayer money to Wall Street after they brought our economy to the brink of collapse, but then he turned around and voted to protect their billions in "unmerited," "ill-advised," and "haphazard" bonuses.

After giving Wall Street billions in taxpayer money, Congressman Blunt then turned around and voted to allow Wall Street to continue to hand out "unreasonable or excessive" bonuses while middle-class families in Missouri were struggling to make ends meet. [CQ Today, 4/1/09; HR 1664, Vote #182, 4/01/09]

"Congressman Blunt doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to putting corporate special interests first," said Linden Zakula, Robin Carnahan’s spokesperson. "Congressman Blunt deregulated the banks, led the charge to bail them out, and then allowed billions in unwarranted bonuses for Wall Street while middle-class families continue to struggle to make ends meet - it’s pretty clear whose side Congressman Blunt is on."

On May 18, 2010 Robin launched her "Stop the Bull" tour where she laid out a series of steps to stop the wasteful spending in Washington - including ending corporate special interest bailouts. Robin has been clear that she would have voted against the $700 Billion Wall Street bailout, had she been in Congress at the time. Robin has been a fierce defender of consumers, getting back over $10 billion for investors and saving small businesses over $12 million.

CONGRESSMAN ‘BAILOUT’ BLUNT’S RECORD OF STANDING UP FOR WALL STREET AND STICKING IT TO THE MIDDLE CLASS

Congressman Blunt Voted To Deregulate Wall Street. "In 1999, Blunt voted legislation "that opens the door for a new era on Wall Street in which commercial banks, securities houses and insurers will find it easier and cheaper to enter one another’s businesses… The opponents of the measure gloomily predicted that by unshackling banks and enabling them to move more freely into new kinds of financial activities, the new law could lead to an economic crisis down the road when the marketplace is no longer growing briskly." [Vote 570, 11/04/99; New York Times, 11/5/99]
Blunt Voted For and Negotiated $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout. In 2008 Blunt voted not once-but twice—in favor of the $700 billion financial rescue package championed by former President Bush and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. [HR 1424, Vote #681, 10/3/08; HR 3997,Vote #674, 9/29/08]
- Headline - "Blunt is Man in the Middle for Bailout Talks": On September 26, Congressional Quarterly described Blunt as "the newly designated lead negotiator for restive House Republicans in drafting a financial rescue plan." [CQ, 9/26/08]
- Headline -"Blunt Lines Up Support for Another House Bailout Vote": After the bailout failed to pass the House, Congressman Blunt helped convinced skeptical Republicans to switch their votes. [Gannett, 10/2/08]
Blunt Voted Against Cracking Down on Bonuses At Bailed Out Companies. In 2009, Congressman Blunt voted against a bill to bar any recipient of federal money from the $700 billion financial industry bailout from awarding "unreasonable or excessive" compensation to executives. [CQ Today, 4/1/09; HR 1664, Vote #182, 4/01/09]
Blunt Voted To Protect Golden Parachutes and Excessive Bonuses: Congressman Blunt voted against a bill to give shareholders a greater say on CEO pay packages. The bill, which cracked down on compensation practices that encouraged banks to take excessive risks, passed the House a day after the release of a report showing that nine big banks paid out a combined $32.6 billion in bonuses despite taking $175 billion in taxpayer aid. [WSJ, 7/31/09; HR 3269, Vote #686, 7/31/09; LA Times, 8/1/09]