Paul Ryan on TARP

Summary

In the beginning of the financial crisis, Congressman Ryan stated that we needed to be careful not to reward bad behavior by Wall Street with taxpayer dollars and that the Federal Reserve must remain focused on its primary mission of keeping inflation under control and not become a bank for troubled companies.

Congressman Ryan was very critical of the proposal put forth by the Bush administration to address the financial crisis. He stated that he pushed for reforms to the package and was supportive of the original form of the TARP legislation. When the package failed to pass the House, Congressman Ryan was very disappointed and stated that he supported the bill in order to stabilize the economy and to preserve American jobs, going on to say that the legislation was needed to ensure that Wall Street’s crisis doesn’t become Main Street’s crisis.

In the following month, the legislation finally passed. In noting his support for the bill, Congressman Ryan stated that the reforms reduced taxpayer exposure, guaranteed taxpayer protections, strengthened support for homeowners, helped Wall Street bail itself out, eliminated special interest giveaways, increased oversight and transparency, and capped executive compensation. He again voted in favor of the legislation.

In January of 2009, Congressman Ryan opposed releasing the second installment of the TARP funds because the system had grown beyond its original intent. He stated that he feared that the second $350 billion in TARP funding will go far beyond the original mission of preserving overall financial market stability, and instead will be used to fund a heavy-handed, neo-industrial policy.

The Crisis and the Federal Reserve 

In September of 2008, as the economic crisis began , Congressman Ryan released a press statement asserting that the Federal Reserve must remain focused on keeping inflation under control.

Disappointment at TARP Failure

In September of 2008, Congressman Ryan released a press statement noting his disappointment at the failure to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

A Better Deal

In October of 2008, Congressman Ryan released a press statement noting that the current TARP program was a much improved version as compared to the one that failed earlier in the year.

Additional TARP Funds Not Necessary

On January 22, 2009 Congressman Ryan noted in a release that he opposed the release of the second installment of TARP funds. He voted against releasing those funds. He notes the reason for this opposition as the recent legislation that expanded the TARP program beyond its original intent.

Voting Record

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

In October of 2008, the House passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Support and opposition to the legislation were both bipartisan. Paul Ryan voted in favor of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which created the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

In September of 2008, the House made an attempt to pass an initial version of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The attempt failed 205-228. Paul Ryan voted in favor of the initial passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

Sponsored and Cosponsored Legislation

This representative has not been identified as sponsoring or cosponsoring significant legislation related to this title.

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