Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen said the $700 billion government bailout he voted for twice last week will not stabilize a wildly erratic stock market on its own.
Speaking with The Examiner’s editorial board as the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 700 points Monday afternoon before it bounced back to only a 370-point loss, Van Hollen said American’s need to prepare themselves for more trouble.
“Call it a bailout, call it a rescue package, I don’t think anybody was arguing this was the be-all or end-all,” Van Hollen, whose district encompasses most of Montgomery County, said. “I think you’re seeing the economy is in worse shape than a lot of people predicted and I think you’re seeing the stock market responding to the overall economic outlook.”
Though the package is unpopular with many Americans, its passage had been deemed a critical tool for helping to stabilize the economy and the leaders of both parties in the House and Senate pledged early on they would get it passed quickly.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been criticized for allowing a vote on the first rescue plan a week ago Monday that ultimately failed and sent the market into a 777-point tailspin. Fellow Democrat Van Hollen on Monday blamed Republicans.
“This was a vote where both sides of the aisle had agreed to bring a certain amount of votes,” Van Hollen said. “It’s not a partisan statement — one side did and one side didn’t.”
About 60 percent of House Democrats voted for the first proposal last week, compared to roughly one-third of House Republicans.
Newcomer Rep. Donna Edwards, who overwhelmingly won a June special election to replace retired Rep. Al Wynn and who also represents parts of Montgomery County, was one Democrat who opposed the first bailout proposal. Edwards ultimately voted for the second plan on Friday.
Van Hollen said he did not know beforehand how Edwards, whose district borders his, would vote.
“We’ve talked about a lot of things, but it’s not my role to persuade her how to vote,” Van Hollen told The Examiner.
