Blunt, Skelton Both Oppose Financial Rewrite

TARP WARS

Congressman Roy Blunt and Congressman Ike Skelton both voted against a sweeping rewrite of complex financial regulations.

Despite 27 Democrats peeling away, the legislation passed 223 to 202.

The legislation would force more control over the country's financial institutions. Blunt, who voted for the financial bailout last fall, said this plan would bankrupt new generations and kill jobs.

"End TARP and send all unspent funds to pay down the massive national debt," Blunt said in a statement. "Instead, national Democrats voted today to make the bailout permanent and spend even more taxpayer money."

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pounced on Blunt, a GOP candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, calling him "a hypocrite": "Roy Blunt voted to bailout the banks, then opposes steps to keep them accountable,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Communications Director Eric Schultz. "Blunt pretends to be a friend of the taxpayer, but today’s proposal includes common-sense, pragmatic steps to protect consumers."

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SKELTON VOTES 'NO' AGAIN

Congressman Ike Skelton said: "While the House bill is well-intentioned and I support much of it, the measure falls short in my goal to target Wall Street without disrupting Main Street banks and bank customers."

MORE SKELTON: "As important as these new regulations are to our country, Congress must be careful in writing them. We must focus tough regulations like a laser beam on Wall Street and other bad actors while not wrapping our home town banks into costly and complex sets of new rules. Community banks and credit unions have been playing by the rules for years. They are conservative with their money and did not cause last year’s economic mess. They and their customers ought not pay the price for Wall Street’s misdeeds any more than they, like all Americans, have already been asked to do."