The Bailout Bill: Actual Text

GovTrack: H.R. 1424: Text of Legislation, Enrolled Bill

I'm sure you haven't all had time and opportunity to actually READ the bill which provides $700,000,000,000 $850,000,000,000 $???,000,000,000 more than we can afford of our tax money to bail out the Bankers, Stockbrokers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because the DemLibs refused to regulate the 'creative interpretations' ("It's A Living Document") of the Consumer Reinvestment Act of 1977, as interpreted by The Clinton Administration.


You know, the bill which Barney Frank, in his Infinate Wisdom said could not conceivably be a problem because, after all, it was Guaranteed by the U. S. Government?

Yeah, that bill.

Here's some interesting text embedded in the bill:

SEC. 115. GRADUATED AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE.
(a) Authority- The authority of the Secretary to purchase troubled assets under this Act shall be limited as follows:
(1) Effective upon the date of enactment of this Act, such authority shall be limited to $250,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time.
(2) If at any time, the President submits to the Congress a written certification that the Secretary needs to exercise the authority under this paragraph, effective upon such submission, such authority shall be limited to $350,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time.
(3) If, at any time after the certification in paragraph (2) has been made, the President transmits to the Congress a written report detailing the plan of the Secretary to exercise the authority under this paragraph, unless there is enacted, within 15 calendar days of such transmission, a joint resolution described in subsection
(c), effective upon the expiration of such 15-day period, such authority shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time.

(b) Aggregation of Purchase Prices- The amount of troubled assets purchased by the Secretary outstanding at any one time shall be determined for purposes of the dollar amount limitations under subsection (a) by aggregating the purchase prices of all troubled assets held.
(c) Joint Resolution of Disapproval-
(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Secretary may not exercise any authority to make purchases under this Act with regard to any amount in excess of $350,000,000,000 previously obligated, as described in this section if, within 15 calendar days after the date on which Congress receives a report of the plan of the Secretary described in subsection (a)(3), there is enacted into law a joint resolution disapproving the plan of the Secretary with respect to such additional amount.

*(Apologies for the crummy formatting, but if you can read the words, you can get the general idea.)

Here's the idea:
This bill authorized the Feds to commit no more than $250 BILLION dollars to the bailout at any one time.

If the Prez (who knows who the hell THAT will be this time next year?) decides that they need more money, he can submit a request to The Secretary, and The Committee can authorize up to $350 BILLION dollars invested in The Bailout. No more, though!On the other hand, if The Prez (PBUH) determines that is not enough, he can submit a finding to Congress, who can autorize up to $700 BILLION distribution to "Purchase troubled assets" at one time.

"Troubled Assets" may seem to be a vague term, but essentially it referr to homes occupied by, and being more-or-less purchased by:

• people who didn't have a reliable income;
• people who couldn't come up with the 10-20% down payment which (until the Clinton Administration stepped in) was the normal requirement for a mortgage which was 'Guaranteed By The Government';
• or can't afford to make full payment on their mortgage when the economy falls into the crapper;
• or realize that their home is worth far less than the amount they still owe, and so have decided not to continue payments but instead to save their money so they can make their minimum down-payment on their next home which is financed by a REAL loan;
• or have been milking the system to establish a system of rental properties which they only hope will pay the mortgage on at least the first property in their personal Pyramid Scheme.

No need to worry yourself about this.

I'm sure that The President of The United States of America, and Congress, (those 500+ stalwart Sons and Daughters of America who have already proved that they have their fingers on the Heartbeat of American Economic Health) will remain steadfast in their care and concern over The American Economy, even if it isn't in their best personal interest.

Wizard of Oz: "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

Rabelais: "All things are as they should be in this most nearly perfect of all possible worlds."

Star Trek, Generations: Excuse me! If you're God, why do you need our help to leave this world?

Never mind. Don't think you have to be cynical about American Politics just because I am.

It's not you. It's me.