Tell Congress to vote NO: You Deserve a Better Bailout!

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From: Public Citizen

Watch: Check out our YouTube video on the financial bailout! Act: Tell your representatives to put YOUR interests first Donate: Help us continue to fight for your rights and represent you in the halls of power

You deserve better!

When the House of Representatives rejected a financial bailout package on Monday, Congress had an opportunity to address objections to the proposal and ensure the rights of Main Street were protected. Instead, the Senate hastily added provisions - many wholly unrelated to fixing the economy - that caused the bill to balloon to a colossal 451 pages. Most legislators haven't had the time to read or understand it.

This is an outrage! Public Citizen opposes this bill.

If the bill is enacted, we will urge Congress to return to the issue immediately after the New Year, and pass legilsation re-regulating the finance industry and providing needed consumer protections and relief.

I urge you to do join Public Citizen in our fight. Write your congressional representatives TODAY and tell them to oppose H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, as passed by the Senate.

Some of the bill's faulty provisions include:

- Giving the Secretary of the Treasury sweeping authority with virtually no restraints on how to exercise it.
- Providing no assistance for financially troubled homeowners trying to stay in their homes.
- Removing a provision that would have allowed judges to modify mortgages for homeowners in bankruptcy - the only significant consumer protection in the bill.
- Rendering the provision governing executive compensation nearly meaningless because it applies only in narrow circumstances, gives the Secretary of the Treasury broad discretion in crafting most of the restrictions and allows the Secretary to narrow the provision's applicability even further.
- Providing hardly any improvements in the judicial review provisions than in the original Treasury proposal.

Public Citizen is fighting relentlessly to make sure YOUR rights are represented in any financial bailout.

But time is running out. Please act today and tell Congress to take the time to ensure the bill contains proper oversight, accountability and judicial review provisions, and encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same.

You can also help by supporting Public Citizen. Your gift of $5, $20, $50 or even $100 can help us continue to fight for the rights of Main Street and represent you in the halls of power.

Thank you for all you do,
Joan Claybrook
President
Public Citizen

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