Update on Financial Crisis Legislation-From Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Dear Friend,

I will be voting "no" today on the Wall Street Bailout bill. American taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for the irresponsible behavior of Wall Street executives. The average citizen is forced to play by the rules, yet many who did not now get a massive bailout from taxpayers in this plan. This is fundamentally unfair. By bailing out reckless behavior we encourage future reckless behavior.

Although the legislation is an improvement over the initial Paulson proposal, I could not support a massive bailout for Wall Street firms that does too little to help homeowners stay in their homes and is totally paid for by the American taxpayer, not Wall Street.

I strongly supported the inclusion of Section 102 in the bill, in order for the Federal government to provide insurance to guarantee troubled assets held by financial institutions. But this insurance program needs to be mandatory, not voluntary as in this bill, and it should be our first option, before we commit hundreds of billions of the taxpayers' dollars. By requiring mandatory government insurance we could greatly reduce the cost to the taxpayer.

The principles that guided my decision are:

· Wall Street, Not Taxpayers should fund Wall Street's recovery.

· Private Capital, Not Unlimited Tax Dollars should be injected into financial markets.

· Immediate Transparency, Oversight and Market Reform are needed."

Cordially,

Lincoln Diaz-Balart