FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Chris Covucci at chris.covucci@kml2008.com or 845-309-2654
Lalor Commends Bipartisan Defeat of Bailout
East Fishkill, NY/Sept. 29, 2008 - Kieran Michael Lalor, the Iraq war veteran who is running against first-term Democrat John Hall, said today that he was relieved to see that the $700 billion bailout did not pass in today's House vote.
"I would have voted against it. This was an inside job from the beginning. John Hall, Nancy Pelosi, President Bush, and the rest of the Washington establishment threw together and barely debated a staggering corporate bailout to be paid for by American taxpayers. The bi-partisan opposition should be commended."
Lalor said he had originally hoped that Congress could shape a plan that would protect taxpayers. But he said, “It became clear that Pelosi and Bush were looking out for the top 10% and the bottom 10%, and asking Middle Class America to bear the burden.”
But "political motivations and greed, not to mention the cozy relationships between Washington and the corporate wrongdoers, fueled much of Wall Street's problems, and infested the bailout," Lalor said. "The bottom line is that taxpayers deserve a responsible approach that puts taxpayers first, and Washington again failed to deliver."
Lalor continued, “There was absolutely nothing in this bill to forestall another crisis. The bill did nothing to address the root causes. If the bill had passed it would have only been a matter of time before Congress tried to foist another near-trillion dollar bailout on the taxpayers.”
In yesterday’s Poughkeepsie Journal Hall tried to link the independent Lalor to Bush, saying, “As I read it, Mr. Lalor will pretty much continue the policies of the Bush administration." Today Hall cast what is likely the most consequential vote of his tenure in Congress to support the Bush bailout.
Lalor added, “Marching in lockstep with fellow elites Pelosi and Bush is neither change nor reform. Now more than ever, the middle class needs a middle-class guy to represent them in Washington.”
Neighboring Democrats Kristen Gillibrand and Maurice Hinchey broke ranks with Pelosi and Hall to vote against the bill.
