"My hope was that the Senate would work together in a bipartisan manner to fix the lack of accountability, oversight and taxpayer protections in the bailout bill so that we could rescue our economy without burdening taxpayers and enriching those who created the crisis. I would have supported that sort of proposal. But instead of working together to fix the underlying problems like lax accountability measures, lack of taxpayer protections and loose CEO compensation restrictions, Congress went in the other direction and added millions in tax giveaways for makers of toy wooden arrows and Puerto Rican rum. I would have voted against this Senate bill.
There were plenty of additions that I strongly support, but this process is exactly what is wrong with Washington. Instead of adding sweeteners to woo a few extra votes, Congress should have addressed the problems with the bailout and given the public an economic rescue with strong oversight, accountability and taxpayer protections." - Jeanne Shaheen