This vote was on an amendment by Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, that would remove the authority of the Treasury secretary to send an observer to board of directors meetings of institutions receiving bailout funds.  The amendment was offered to a bill that would create new conditions on the use of some $700 billion in funding to purchase certain “toxic” mortgage assets weighing down the balance books of banks and companies.  This “bailout” money is intended to help ease a credit crunch that is stifling business across the nation.

“I’ve been around here for a few years and although I have no doubt that everybody is well-meaning in the legislation that they bring to the floor, my fear is that today’s “may” shall turn out to be tomorrow’s “shall.” And my fear is that today’s “observer” will become tomorrow’s “suggester” and next week will become “the mandator.” I think this is a terrible, terrible precedent. I think it bespeaks of industrial policy run by the government. I think it puts, again, one more of those slippery stones on that slippery slope to socialism,” Hensarling said.

Barney Frank, D-Mass., said he was “struck by the implicit endorsement of this amendment that I received from my friend from Texas. He opposed the amendment by talking not about what it does, but what might happen later on in a way very different from it. He did not appear to have much objection to the amendment itself. He is talking about, if we do this, it might lead to something else. Well, at that point object to something else.”

By a vote of 151-274, the amendment was defeated.  All but three Democrats present voted against the amendment.  Of Republicans present, 148 voted for the amendment and 25 voted against it.  The end result is that the measure went forward without language that would have removed the Treasury Department’s authority to send observers to board of directors meetings of institutions receiving bailout funding.