Washington, D.C. - In advance of President Bush’s 9:00 p.m. address to the nation this evening on the crisis facing our economy, U.S. Representative Schwartz released the following statement.

“As our nation faces the most challenging economic crisis in generations, Congressional action to restore confidence in the economy must first and foremost protect American taxpayers.

“To give a blank check to this Administration, as they requested, is simply unacceptable.

“Congress has been working to fix the enormous inadequacies in the original proposal presented by Secretary Paulson.

“We are committed to ensuring that taxpayer interests are protected; that homeowners are safeguarded; and that executives compensation and severance packages be limited. We are equally forceful in our demand that there be full transparency, oversight and accountability for use of these public dollars, and any gains on investments be returned to the public treasury.
 
“The American public deserves nothing less than a plan that includes these core principles.

“With a focus on American taxpayers, responsible fiscal policies, and fair regulation and oversight of our financial markets, we will put our economy back on track and rebuild economic opportunity for American businesses and American workers.”

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