Quick action urged

McHugh, McNulty support bailout

By RICHARD NILSEN, The Leader-Herald

Lawmakers representing local citizens say an agreement on a financial bailout for Wall Street must be reached soon or Main Street will feel the effects in terms of layoffs, loan availability and business stagnation.

U.S. Rep. John M. McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, and Rep. Michael R. McNulty, D-Green Island, both supported the $700 billion compromise plan in Monday's House of Representatives vote. The plan was defeated 228-205.

McHugh said this morning doing nothing to "let the market play out is a prescription for disaster."

He said there were some in Congress who felt a short-term downturn would right itself, but he didn't agree with that view.

McHugh stressed the importance of getting a deal reached for New York state. Of 29 New York state represen-

tatives in the House, 25 voted yes and four voted no, according to a congressional roll call.

"This bailout isn't to save the skins of those who made unwise financial decisions on Wall Street," McHugh said.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., called for renewed bipartisan action following the House's failure Monday to pass the compromise plan.

"This is not a time when doing nothing will see us through," Clinton said in a news release. "We have to take action."

Clinton also stressed the importance of coming to an agreement for the people of New York state.

"This really comes home here," Clinton said in the release. "We have tens of thousands of people who are dependent upon the financial services industry, we have thousands of people who run businesses across our state who can't get the credit they need to stay in business, and we have thousands of thousands of employees."

State Sen. Hugh T. Farley, R-Niskayuna, chairman of the New York State Senate Committee on Banks, said today the bailout defeated Monday wasn't as much of a Wall Street bailout as a plan that would help the average person.

"This [rejection of a bailout] could really be devastating," Farley said. "State revenues are so dependent on Wall Street."

He said 20 percent of state revenues come from the proceeds of Wall Street.

"It's a tremendous problem and a challenge we hope to turn around by the end of the week," he said.

Neither McNulty nor U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., could be reached this morning.