Rep. Lois Capps joined the House of Representatives on Friday in voting for an expanded version of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (House Resolution 1424).
The bill implements an economic rescue package intended to address the growing financial crisis that has frozen credit markets and threatens to bring down the U.S. economy. It also includes important tax provisions that protect the middle class and support the production of alternative energy, and requires insurance companies to treat the coverage of mental health like other diseases. The bill passed 263-171.
“The House today took an extremely difficult but important step to protect our economy and the financial livelihood of all people on the South and Central Coasts,” Capps said. “The credit crisis gripping America is choking Main Street and affecting Americans of all walks of life. Just today the administration announced that another 159,000 jobs were lost in September, the largest monthly loss in more than five years and the ninth straight month of job losses. That means we’ve lost nearly 800,000 jobs in the first nine months of this year.”
“We must act quickly and this proposal to meet this crisis is the best option we have. I know it would have been much easier for me to have taken the more popular route and voted against this measure, but I believe that would have been the wrong choice for my district and my country.”
Randolph Harrison is chief of staff for Rep. Lois Capps.