House Proceeding 09-29-08 on Sep 29th, 2008 :: 0:18:19 to 0:21:31
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0:18:09 to 0:18:19( Edit History Discussion )

pro mpore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. frank: madam speaker, i yield to one of the most thoughtful members of our committee and one who has a great deal of knowledge of

0:18:19 to 0:18:34( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: the subject under discussion, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. watt, for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for three minutes. mr. watt:

0:18:19 to 0:21:31( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Melvin L. Watt
Bill: H.R. 3997: Defenders of Freedom Tax Relief Act of 2007

0:18:34 to 0:18:55( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding time. there's probably no worse instance to be doing legislation than having to do it in response to a crisis. legislating to clean

0:18:55 to 0:19:14( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: up a mess is just not fun as it is if you do something thoughtfully looking forward to try to prevent a mess from occurring. and we've been for the last several years trying to legislate. we had predatory

0:19:14 to 0:19:30( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: lending legislation. we've been on the forefront of that. but we've been on having difficulty getting people to recognize that a crisis was coming if we didn't respond to cut back on

0:19:30 to 0:19:45( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: irresponsibility in the market. there are two problems here. first is, is there a real crisis that needs to be responded to? and that's really the question that i've gotten a lot of -- lot

0:19:45 to 0:20:01( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: more calls frommy constituents about. the second issue of course is, what do you do about it if there is a crisis? so let me talk about the first of those first. is there a crisis? and the

0:20:00 to 0:20:30( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Thaddeus G. McCotter
Bill: H.R. 3997: Defenders of Freedom Tax Relief Act of 2007

0:20:01 to 0:20:21( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: question -- that question i really don't have an answer for other than the answer that we were given by the secretary of the treasury and the chairman of the federal reserve a week ago thursday which

0:20:21 to 0:20:36( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: was that we are in a real crisis situation that could mushroom into something worse than the great depression. it's not my responsibility as an individual member of congress to go and prove that, but

0:20:36 to 0:20:53( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: when the secretary of treasury and the chairman of the federal reserve tell me that there's a real problem, the stakes become too high for me not to take it seriously. it's not my responsibility

0:20:53 to 0:21:10( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: to go and convince the amterican people, and i wish we had a president that had enough communication skills and enough credibility with the american people to convince them that there is a real

0:21:10 to 0:21:24( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: problem. unfortunately, that burden hadn't been carried sufficiently by the administration. but i'm convinced that the odds -- the odds are bad enough that if we don't do something today we will

0:21:24 to 0:21:31( Edit History Discussion )

Melvin L. Watt: regret it for a long, long time to come. . having jumped across that threshold we have shaped this pack age as responsibly as we can shape it. i encourage my colleagues to support the bill.

0:21:31 to 0:21:40( Edit History Discussion )

Spencer Bachus: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. bachus: madam speaker, i yield