When It Comes To The Wall Street Mess, Stevens Is Part Of The ProblemStevens Repeatedly Voted In Favor Of Wall Street At The Expense Of Alaska Families Anchorage, Alaska – While headlines across the country highlight the troubles of Wall Street and the economy, Senator Ted Stevens is sitting in a federal courtroom and hoping his expensive D.C. lawyers can bail him out of his seven federal felony corruption charges. The United States is facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Yet Stevens, who has been close to Wall Street firms for years, is part of the problem. While taking money from Wall Street corporations, Stevens opposed any meaningful Wall Street oversight or accountability. It’s clear Stevens has lost touch with Alaskans and their needs. Alaska families are struggled to pay their energy bills, health care bills, and put food on the table. It’s no secret that Stevens has been cozy with Wall Street for years, but it’s just wrong that Alaskans have to pay the price. Stevens Has Repeatedly Voted In Favor Of Wall Street… Stevens Voted For The Financial Modernization Act Of 1999, Which Is Responsible For The Reckless Wall Street Gambling That Led To The Current Financial Crisis. The Financial Modernization Act of 1999 (FMA) eroded government oversight of Wall Street and “helped pave the way for companies such as AIG and Lehman Brothers to become behemoths laden with bad loans and investments.” [Roll Call Vote 105, U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes, 5/6/1999; McCain Embraces Regulation After Many Years of Opposition, Washington Post, 9/17/08] Stevens Voted To Bailout Freddie Mac And Fannie Mae. On July 26, 2008, Sen. Ted Stevens voted for H.R. 3221, the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act. Under the plan, the Treasury Department will buy billions of dollars in new mortgage securities issued by the companies and inject an unknown amount of capital into them in quarterly installments. The CBO stated it would be impossible to give the cost of the bailout, but estimated $25 billion based on projected losses. [Roll Call Vote 186, H.R. 3221, 7/26/2008; Mortgage Giants Agreeable To Rescue Plan, But Its Cost Is Unknown, New York Times, 9/7/2008] And Against Alaska’s Interests… Stevens Voted To Make Filing For Bankruptcy More Difficult. On March 10, 2005, Stevens voted to make filing for bankruptcy more difficult. The bill passed 74-25, with 55 Republicans, 1 Independent and 19 Democrats voting for the bill. [Roll Call Vote 44, S. 256, 3/10/2005] Stevens Voted Against Protecting People Who Declare Bankruptcy Because Of Serious Medical Problems. On March 2, 2005 Stevens voted against protecting debtors whose financial problems were caused by serious medical problems. The amendment failed 39-58, with 4 Democrats voting for it. [Roll Call Vote 16, S.AMDT 28, 3/2//2005] Stevens Voted Against Protecting Homeowners That Declare Bankruptcy Because of Medical Debt. On March 2, 2005, Stevens voted against providing protection for medical debt homeowners who declared bankruptcy. The amendment would have exempted individuals pushed into bankruptcy by high medical costs and would have allowed such filers to protect at least $150,000 of the value of their homes when seeking bankruptcy protection. The amendment failed 39-58, with 4 Democrats voting for it. [Roll Call Vote 17, S.AMDT 29, 3/2/2005] Stevens Voted Against Protecting Consumers from Financial Troubles Caused By Identity Theft. On March 3, 2005, Stevens voted against protecting debtors who were victims of identity theft. The amendment would have exempted victims of identity theft from the means test used to determine if debtors were eligible to declare bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. The amendment failed 37-61, with 7 Democrats voting for it. [Roll Call Vote 21, S.AMDT 37, 3/3/2005] Stevens Voted Against Protections From Predatory Lenders. On March 3, 2005, Stevens voted against prohibiting high cost mortgage lenders from collecting on their claims in bankruptcy court if the extend credit in violation of the Truth in Lending Act. The amendment failed 40-58, with 1 Republican voting for it and 4 Democrats voting against it. [Roll Call Vote 22, AMDT 38, March 3, 2005] Stevens Voted Against Protecting Seniors From Losing Their Homes Due To Bankruptcy. On March 2, 2005, Stevens voted against keeping seniors from losing their homes, often their sole asset, when declaring bankruptcy. The amendment failed 40-59, with 3 Democrats and one independent voting for it. [Roll Call Vote 14, S.AMDT 17, 3/2/2005] Stevens Supports The Privatization Of Social Security. As a proponent of privatizing Social Security, Stevens would have left retirement benefits volatile while giving the financial services industry more business. [Roll Call Vote 56, S.Con.Res. 86, April 1, 1998; Roll Call Vote 77, S.Con.Res. 86, April 2, 1998] And While Stevens Rakes In Cash From Wall Street And Sits On His Own Stock Portfolio… Stevens Received More Than Half A Million Dollars From Wall Street Firms Since 1989. Stevens’ received $105,350 from employees and PACs from commercial banks, $207,182 from employees and PACs from insurance companies, and $209,197 from employees and PACs from the securities and investments industry. [Ted Stevens, Center For Responsive Politics, Retrieved 9/25/2008] Stevens And His Wife Held As Much As $2.13 Million In Investments In 2007. While the Senate only requires publically traded assets and unearned income to be reported within certain income ranges, Senator Stevens’ 2007 Annual Financial Disclosure Report shows that the value of his and his wife’s his total publically traded assets and unearned income for the year fell between $882,025 and $2,130,000. [United States Senate Financial Disclosure Report For Annual And Termination Reports, 2007] Alaska Families Are Struggling To Make Ends Meet… Alaska Families Face Many Challenges Due To The Financial Crisis. “Despite last week’s interventions by the government, the credit crunch will continue to disrupt plans for families and businesses, threaten jobs, weigh on the economy and disappoint investors. … People interested in buying new homes will have to hunt to find a mortgage unless they have a pristine credit history and a large down payment.” [Credit Crunch Still Has Hold On Everyday Life, Chicago Tribune, 9/22/2008] Alaska Students Face Challenges Finding Enough Money To Pay For School Due To The Nation’s Credit Crisis. “More than 70 companies have stopped lending money to students since the start of the year. …The shrinking industry means one less source of money for American families to tap into to help pay for a college education. [Students Feel Effects Of Financial Meltdown, Grand Rapid Press, 9/20/2008] Seniors With Investments Are Among The Hardest Hit By The Nation’s Financial Crisis. “As companies have switched from fixed pensions to 401(k) accounts, retirees risk losing big chunks of their wealth and income in a single day’s trading, as many have in the last month.” [Retirees Filling The Front Line in Market Fears, The New York Times, 9/22/2008] Seniors With Fewer Assets Also Face Financial Hardship Due To The Financial Crisis. “Older people with few assets, including the one-third of retirees who rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income, may not suffer directly from the decline in the stock market, but they feel the pain of higher gas and food prices and reductions in volunteer services like Meals on Wheels, which have been curtailed because of fuel costs.” [Retirees Filling the Front Line in Market Fears, The New York Times, 9/22/2008] Stock Market Crisis Causes Loss Of $775 Million To Alaska’s Permanent Fund. The stock market meltdown on September 15 “shaved $775 million off the value of the $34 billion Alaska Permanent Fund. …most of the decline in value came from the fund’s $18 billion in stock market holdings.” [Alaska Digest, Anchorage Daily News, 9/17/2008] Foreclosures In Alaska Have Increased By 90% Since March, 2007. There were 173 foreclosures in Alaska in March 2008, “up 30 percent from the month before and 90 percent from March 2007. Alaska sits about halfway—29th—down the list of statewide foreclosures nationally.” [Mat-Su Real Estate Market Slows; CLOGGED: Homes Priced At Less Than $275,000 Sell, But There's A High-End Glut, Anchorage Daily News, 6/6/2008] # # # |
 |
 |
 |