New York Democratic representatives José Serrano, Kirsten Gillibrand, Maurice Hinchey, and Republican John Kuhl voted against the bailout bill that faced Congress today. The state has 29 members in its congressional delegation: 23 Democrats and six Republicans. Both Kuhl and Gillibrand are facing close races in their districts this year, which could explain their reluctance to support a costly corporate-welfare bill likely to be unpopular with taxpayers. Serrano told the Times: “I felt it was not a situation where you should be giving large amount[s] of money to be administered by the same people who caused the problem … Second, I didn’t find enough provisions that satisfied me in terms of the oversight. Kuhl said in a statement on his Website: “I cannot ask my constituents, who have worked so hard to keep up their obligations on their homes, cars, and college loans for their children to foot the bill for irresponsible lenders and borrowers.” The House.gov Website is now down, so we can’t let you know what specifics the other four congressmen objected to. But we imagine it’s along the same lines.
4 New York House Members Voted No on Bailout [City Room/NYT]
