WASHINGTON (AP) " Pacific Northwest lawmakers were split down the middle Monday as the House rejected a $700 billion emergency rescue for the nation's financial system.
Eight lawmakers from Washington, Oregon and Idaho voted in favor of the bailout, and eight voted against it. The 225-208 vote came despite urgent warnings from President Bush and congressional leaders of both parties that the economy could nosedive into recession without it.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said the bailout bill was better than a proposal last week from the Bush administration, doing more to protect the taxpayer, ensure Wall Street executives are held accountable and increase oversight, she said.
Still, McMorris Rodgers said she voted no, because, on principle, she is not convinced it is the right approach.
"Committing $700 billion of our tax dollars requires a longer, more thoughtful debate. It requires a greater confidence that this bill will address the root problems " actually help our financial markets " and provide future assurances," she said.
Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said the bill would have ensured that taxpayers get a fair return on their investment.
"Democrats and Republicans in Congress worked together to make improvements to the administration's plan. We included the oversight, accountability and return on our investment American taxpayers need and deserve," Larsen said, adding that he was disappointed at the outcome.
The vote crossed party lines. Six of 10 Northwest Democrats voted yes, while four voted no. Two Republicans voted in favor, while four were opposed.
Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., said he voted in favor of the bill "because everybody knows something should be done."
McDermott, a Seattle liberal who denounced the initial bailout proposal as a turn toward dictatorship by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, said he trusted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders to negotiate protections for working families.
But Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., said the revised package was not much better than the original.
"For all the talk of protecting the taxpayer, there were only limited promises that the taxpayers' $700 billion investment would be paid back and there were no provisions to help struggling homeowners," Inslee said.
Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, called his vote in favor of the bill one of the toughest of his career.
He said the greatest risk for taxpayers was in not acting.
The bill the House voted on made substantial improvements over the president's initial offer, including protections for taxpayers, an end to "golden parachutes" for corporate executives and substantial limits on how the Treasury can use the funding to be made available, Simpson said.
Voting in favor of the bill were Larsen, McDermott and Simpson, as well as Democratic Reps. Brian Baird, Norm Dicks and Adam Smith of Washington and Darlene Hooley of Oregon, and Republican Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon.
Voting no were McMorris Rodgers, Inslee and Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio and David Wu of Oregon, as well as Republican Reps. Doc Hastings and Dave Reichert of Washington and Republican Bill Sali of Idaho.
Wu said the country faces a serious threat to the economy, adding that he believes action is needed to protect Americans jobs, retirements and financial security.
"Unfortunately, this hasty bill was not the right answer," he said.
The bill "put up taxpayer money without a commitment from the government that they would be paid back," Wu said, criticizing as weak language in bill requiring that a future president offer Congress a proposal to help taxpayers recoup any losses that they suffered.
Reichert, who faces a stiff challenge from Democrat Darcy Burner in Seattle's eastern suburbs, said he hoped Congress would soon consider a modified version of the bill.
"It's more important to get this legislation right than to act in haste," he said. "Panic on Wall Street brought us to this point, and we cannot let panic in Congress push through a remedy that is worse than the illness."
Instead of a $700 billion "blank check," Congress should approve a comprehensive package that helps Wall Street recover with more private capital instead of taxpayer dollars; that holds accountable those executives who contributed to the crisis; and that enforces existing laws while modernizing outdated ones, Reichert said.