WASHINGTON — President Bush signed a Wall Street bailout bill this afternoon, 90 minutes after the U.S. House passed it by a vote of 263-171.
Passage came after 26 Republicans and 32 Democrats changed their votes from Monday, when the House rejected an earlier version.
“By coming together on this legislation, we have acted boldly to help prevent the crisis on Wall Street from becoming a crisis in communities across our country,” President Bush said. “We have shown the world that the United States of America will stabilize our financial markets and maintain a leading role in the global economy.”
The seven House members from Colorado did not change their positions from Monday.
Democratic Reps. Mark Udall of Eldorado Springs and John Salazar of Manassa, and Republican Reps. Marilyn Musgrave of Fort Morgan and Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs maintained their previous “no” votes. Democratic Reps. Diana DeGette of Denver and Ed Perlmutter of Golden and Republican Tom Tancredo of Littleton maintained their “yes” votes.
“We can have a much better bill that protects taxpayers and takes care of homeowners that are in foreclosure,” Udall said in an interview at the Capitol.
There was no fundamental difference between Monday’s bill and the one voted on today, he said.
Udall entered the House chamber to cast his vote after the measure had already passed. His spokeswoman, Heather Fox, said that he was working on his floor statement prior to voting. Musgrave said that she cast her vote early.
Not enough changed in the bill to change her vote, Musgrave said.
“I stayed with my vote because it still is a bailout, still has a staggering price, still gives the Secretary of the Treasury an amazing amount of power,” Musgrave said in an interview. “The Senate larded it up to get the votes, that’s why it was still a no today.”
Musgrave, Udall and Salazar said that they wanted to stay in Washington and work on a better bill.
Asked about the urgency of passing legislation to ease a credit crisis, Udall said that, “my attitude all along has been the one John Wooden used to coach his team to embrace, which is ‘be quick but don’t hurry.'”
“There’s so much that’s fundamentally wrong with the credit markets. I thought this was the chance to get it right,” Udall added. “Spend a few more days — even another week — improving the bill so that taxpayers are protected and homeowners are given a second chance.”
The race against Republican Bob Schaffer for Colorado’s open Senate seat didn’t factor into his decision, Udall said.
“I did what I thought was right on Monday, and I did what I thought was right today,” Udall said. “Coloradans wanted a no vote. They wanted a better product.”
Running for reelection, Musgrave also is in a close race against Democrat Betsy Markey.
“It is a very tight race,” Musgrave said. “My first priority is to do what I need to do here with my job. I’ll go home and I’ll work as hard as I can work to win. They’re two separate things.”
Of the “no” votes today, 63 were Democrats and 108 were Republicans.
Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, called some House members from his party urging them to support the bill, but didn’t call Udall.
Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain also reportedly called House members, but did not call Musgrave. Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio did not call her either, she said.
Lamborn said he’s been asked whether he would have regretted his no vote had the bill failed again and the economy further unmoored. He said there should be a different question.
“If we do this at a huge expense to taxpayers and don’t solve the problem, shouldn’t people regret their yes vote?” Lamborn asked. “Treasury Secretary (Henry) Paulson was whipping up some of the panic in an attempt to get his way.”
Musgrave also blamed Paulson, and said that by calling it a crisis of great urgency, he caused a lack of confidence on Wall Street.
The bill’s impact on the credit markets, DeGette said, was more important than any misgivings she may have had over what it contained.
“I am not happy that the Senate loaded this bill up with pork, but I supported it because it is necessary to not only put our financial markets back on track, but also to restore consumer confidence in the American economy,” she said in prepared remarks. “It is imperative that we inject liquidity into the market, free up credit so consumers and small businesses can obtain loans, and stabilize our economy.”
Salazar said he was hopeful that the bill would have its intended effect on the economy, but fearful the country would look back on today’s vote with regret.
“Congress should have rejected the Administration and brought forward a bill that was tough enough to protect the American taxpayer and small business owner, included the regulations necessary to prevent this mess from happening again, provided assistance to help Americans stay in their homes, and had the guts to be fiscally responsible,” he said in a statement.
“At the end of the day, my vote was one of principle for my three children, my grandson, and the millions of young Americans who are going to inherit the bill for a mess they didn’t create,” Salazar said.
