Senate Proceeding on Jan 15th, 2009 :: 4:50:55 to 4:55:05
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4:50:51 to 4:51:13( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that my as written be included with my written -- with my remarks as given. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bond: mr. president, i yield

4:50:55 to 4:55:05( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: James Webb

4:51:14 to 4:51:34( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: the floor. mr. webb: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. webb: thank you, mr. president. i'd like to spend a few minutes today also addressing this very public issue of the next tranche of 50 billion that is being asked for by the incoming administration.

4:51:35 to 4:51:55( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: i, like many people who supported the initial request on october the 1st, am very disappointed with the difference in the implementation as opposed to the to us asking for our support.

4:51:56 to 4:52:16( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: i would say also, mr.resident, that if this were a new proposal coming to us given the experience did, i would probably not support it. if it were the same administration, given the conduct since october, i this is an incoming

4:52:17 to 4:52:40( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: administration that is in a situation that was created by the initial vote. it's billion proposal. i have received concrete guarantees from the president-elect -- i spoke to him at great length yesterday --

4:52:41 to 4:53:02( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: and i am going to support moving this next tranche forward. and i would like to take a few minutes to explain that. i was one of the first people to originally question secretary paulson's request last september.

4:53:03 to 4:53:26( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: i came to the senate floor the made. i basically laid out five different points of concern that we had with the proposal itself. i worked with other members of this body. we had nine senators joining in a letter to the majority leader saying that any proposal like

4:53:27 to 4:53:47( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: this had to, first of all, garn thee it was not one individua individual -- guarantee that it was not one individual in the executive branch that was able to make these kinds of decisions, that ideally from our perspective, there should have been a three-person panel of honest brokers. that the american taxpayers should be invested in the upsid of a program like this.

4:53:48 to 4:54:08( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: that there should be regulation of the financial markets. we must have that. and that there should be concrete limits on executive compensation. we got some movement on those issues during the negotiating process led by the senior senator from connecticut.

4:54:09 to 4:54:29( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: we didn't get all of them but we got enough, coupled with the visions of cataclysmic effect that might occur in the world narcotics i decided to vote for it. and then secretary paulson went off and spent the money in a totally different way than he told us he was going to. the situation now, in my view, is different.

4:54:30 to 4:54:50( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: i spoke with the presi on the points i just mentioned yesterday. i indicated that he was totally comfortable with my coming to the senate floor and saying that he personally guarantees closure on all of those issues, that there will be more than one person in the ad administration --

4:54:51 to 4:55:05( Edit History Discussion )

James Webb: at least three people in the administration -- working together to find out the best place to put these funds. that the american taxpayers are invested, that there will be limits on executive compensation compensation, and that there clearly is going to be