Hawaii Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Mazie Hirono helped defeat a historic $700 billion financial rescue bill - a defeat that helped trigger a run on Wall Street.

    Abercrombie And Hirono Nix Bailout Plan  

 

 

They said it had no oversight or didn't go far enough to protect taxpayers and homeowners facing foreclosure.

 

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  Abercrombie and Hirono were among the 95 House Democrats who voted against the bill that had been heavily lobbied for by both President Bush and the House Democratic leadership. The vote was 205 for the plan and 228 against.

Abercrombie and Hirono said their constituents were overwhelmingly against the bill.

“;This is a classic case of insider baseball in Washington. You note that the House leadership, the president, Henry Paulson (Treasury secretary) and both parties all said the deal had been made. Well, nobody bothered to ask the people who actually do the voting,”; Abercrombie said.

Hirono said she voted against the bill “;because it didn't go far enough to protect taxpayers and assist homeowners facing foreclosure.”;

Both Hawaii Democrats said there is time this week when Congress returns on Thursday, after a two-day break for the Jewish new year, to come up with a new measure.

A new bill, Hirono and Abercrombie said, should ensure there is no freeze on credit, stabilize the financial markets and provide some help to homeowners facing foreclosure.

But Abercrombie said the real problem is that the public and the rank and file in Congress are having a crisis of trust.

“;Nobody trusts Washington, nobody trusts the president and nobody trusts this guy (Treasury Secretary Henry) Paulson,”; Abercrombie said.

Although the bailout bill was killed in the House, Hawaii Sen. Dan Inouye, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, urged patience, telling Congress “;this is not the time for fingerpointing.”;

Inouye says the stability of the credit markets is critical.

“;There are clear signs that this market is on the verge of collapsing,”; he said.

Inouye added that he is not surprised that American giants such as General Motors and General Electric “;are talking about bankruptcy.”;

“;We in Congress must stay on our jobs and work in a bipartisan fashion to pass a rescue plan that puts taxpayers first in fixing this crisis,”; Inouye said.