Great message sent for bipartisan cooperation Senator.  I believe by House Republicans willing to swallow a little pride and vote for this bill will benefit everyone in the long run.

I know how hard it is to go against party lines but you did the right thing Senator, something needed to be done IMMEDIATELY and if this bill wasn't passed I don't know what would have happened.

Jim Thomas, above, couldn't be more right.  Privatize Fannie & Freddie, and let the markets work this thing out.  I am not afraid of a recession, they help clean out underperforming value destroyers.  I think we need the equivalent of that for congress!

Please do not vote for this plan. Congress can help, but this plan is the WRONG plan. Instead, I submit the following three steps: Common Sense Plan. I. INSURANCE A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity. B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things: 1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage. a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes. b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives. 2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps under-performing executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal. II. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.

Please do not vote for this plan. Congress can help, but this plan is the WRONG plan. Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps: Common Sense Plan. I. INSURANCE A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity. B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things: 1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage. a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes. b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives. 2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps under-performing executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs. C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal. II. MARK TO MARKET A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate. B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing. III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing. B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

Please do not vote for ANY sort of government assistance or bailout for these companies.  You are only delaying the inevitable.  These companies need to fail in order for the free market to work as it should.  If that means a prolonged economic downturn, so be it.  I am sick and tired of people not taking responsiblity for their actions and rewarding their poor choices with a safety net provided by the American taxpayer. 

I am opposed to this bail out under any circumstances.

Please vote no on the bailout package. Do not let the used car salesmen/women on Capitol Hill sell your taxpayers a LEMON! Do you not see that Citibank just bought Wachovia and JP Morgan Chase just bought WAMU? This intervention is not needed. The private sector can correct this problem! I am willing to take it on the chin now, if necessary, in order to preserve our democratic way of life for MY CHILDREN! There is something serously wrong when a democracy has to borrow money from a communist country to survive. This must stop! Let the irresponsibe institutions go under. They will be taken over by more fiscally responsible organizations. STUDY the depression. The problem was not the crash of the stock market, it was governments overreaction and interference that caused the depression. NO ONE that I know is for this BAILOUT. VOTE NO!

i am against the bailout. please vote no

Thank you Sen. for opposing the governments bail out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, this companies were inflating their profits for years and deserve what is coming.