Oct 4, 2008 10:48 am US/Eastern
Disgust: Bailout Bill Was Delayed By Pork
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holds up the HR1424 Financial Rescue package bill she just signed on Capitol Hill Oct. 3, 2008, in Washington, DC.
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It seems that nothing is free. There was even a price tag on the $700 billion bailout signed into law by President Bush on Friday, and that price tag may surprise you.
It's hard to think that a $.39 tax break on the manufacturer of children's wooden arrows could hold up such an important bailout plan, but it not only could, it did. And that's just one of the many pork barrel items landed into the bailout bill.
"It shouldn't be any part of this bill, but as Churchill said, no one wants to know how their sausages or laws are made," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan).
And the sorry truth about the congressional bailout bill is that some big juicy slices of pork were added to help change "no" votes into "yes" votes.
For the folks in Oregon, getting rid of the aforementioned arrow tax probably swayed some voters decisions.
Alaska congressmen probably felt a whole lot kinder after a $223 million tax break for fishermen affected by the 1989 Exxon-Valdez disaster.
Nascar-loving Virginia and North Carolina scored a $128 million break for manufacturers of racing tracks.
And for California, $10 million in tax breaks for small TV and film producers could have a certain congressman singing the right tune.
"We had to act. Is it a perfect bill? No. I object to the pork that the Senate added," said Maloney.
Said Rep. Peter King (R-Long Island): "If I had my choice, they would not be here, but I have to vote either yes or no with the bill the way it is."
And Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner felt the pork barrel items could cause more harm than good.
"It's one of the things that makes citizens lose sign of what's important in Washington when you see things like that happen," he said.
Talking to some city residents, they seemed to agree.
"It's the old game that the Congress plays of sneaking in other elements into a bill intended for something else, and I think that a lot of these guys should be thrown out of office," said Irwin Segan, a Manhattan resident.
There's also some $100 billion worth of tax cuts to attract Republicans.
The House says it's going to begin meeting on Monday on ways to make the financial markets more responsible. They also say they will meet in January to try and take some of the pork out.
But of course, seeing is believing.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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