Merkley Praises Wyden, DeFazio, Blumenauer for Putting Principle Before Politics

Today, Representatives Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer joined Senator Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to oppose the $700 billion blank check bailout of Wall Street. This stands in stark contrast to Gordon Smith who chose Wall Street over Main Street.
Jeff Merkley, candidate for U.S. Senate, issued the following statement after the vote in the House of Representatives:

"For his entire career, Gordon Smith has stood with those on Wall Street who created this crisis. He stood with them to remove accountability and oversight of financial institutions. He stood with them to pass tax giveaways for special interests. And he stood with them again this week.

"The $700 billion bailout does not protect consumers, does not protect taxpayers and does not hold Wall Street accountable. It will force American taxpayers to bail out foreign banks and allow CEOs on Wall Street to walk away with millions in their pocket. I laid out clear principles for how to address this crisis in a way that will ensure growth for our families: protections for taxpayers, new accountability and oversight of Wall Street, no excessive compensation for executives and no assistance to foreign banks. Regrettably, these principles were not included in the final bill.

"Ron Wyden, Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer made the hard choice to vote against the tide of special interests in Washington. We need more leaders who put principle above politics."

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Posted October 3, 2008
Press