Sign petition placing consumers at table of Wall Street bailout

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From: Public Citizen

Guess who the financial bailout doesn't protect?

Take action now: Tell Congress to put YOUR interests first in any financial bailout plan. Spread the word: Tell your friends and colleagues to join the fight. Stay tuned: Tomorrow we'll give you updates on our petition and press conference. Support us: Help us continue to represent you in the halls of power.

Today, Congress and lobbyists are listening to Treasury Henry Secretary Paulson and Fed Ben Chairman Bernanke tell them that they must devise a $700 billion bailout plan immediately. Two kinds of people are represented in that room: Wall Street speculators whose greed-driven schemes have jeopardized the economic stability of our nation, and public officials who should have done something to prevent this economic situation. Americans will be on the outside.

Public Citizen says enough! We're launching a campaign, along with Consumer Watchdog, to put consumers first in any financial bailout plan. We're mobilizing millions of Americans, and we need your support to make our voices heard in the halls of power!

We are holding a press conference today and heading to Capitol Hill to announce a consumer agenda for Congress to consider as it debates a bailout plan. Our recommendations call for increased regulation of financial institutions and strict accountability for the firms that receive bailout money. The recommendations include:

-Ignoring Wall Street's effort to panic Congress into hasty passage of bailout legislation.
-Capping interest rates on credit cards and mortgage rates.
-Giving government an ownership stake in bailed out firms.
-Creating rules that would prevent lobbyists and firms from cashing in on the massive taxpayer handout.
-Requiring oversight and new regulators standards for the financial services industry.

Rushing through a $700 billion package will blow open the doors of the Treasury for unprecedented graft and corruption. Congress must put Americans' interests ahead of their own political agendas. If taxpayer money is going to be used to save the economy, taxpayers deserve real relief, like a rollback in interest rates, not face-saving gestures intended to allow public officials who did nothing to stop this catastrophe to race home to campaign for re-election claiming they protected taxpayers.

Swift action is crucial to make our voices heard. Sign our petition now, forward it to your friends and colleagues, and tell Congress to put YOUR interests first in a financial bailout.

Stay tuned tomorrow, when we'll give you updates on our petition and our press conference!

Thank you for all you do,
Joan Claybrook
Public Citizen

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