Rehberg: We had to do something

He didn't support the final $700 billion package for rescuing staggering financial institutions, but U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., is certain that Congress had to take some action to protect the country's overall economy.

"The bottom line is, we needed to do something," Rehberg said in a meeting with the Inter Lake editorial board Thursday. "The question is, how do you go about it?"

Lawmakers would not endure the wrath of their constituents unless they were certain that government intervention was necessary, he said.

Rehberg noted that his office was inundated with calls, 500 to 1, against the bailout, and he joked that the one call in favor came from Vice President Dick Cheney.

Rehberg said he ended up voting against the bill, largely because of the way it was developed and advanced through a legislative process that is dominated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's preferences and rules.

The bill that made it to the House from the Senate went directly from the speaker's desk to the House floor for a vote, bypassing the Appropriations Committee on which Rehberg sits.

Rehberg said he and other Republicans had amendments in mind to improve the bill, such as one provision that would have eliminated capital gains taxes for people who sold assets and then reinvested the proceeds. The idea was to spur investor confidence.

Another idea involved providing incentives for "repatriating" capital from offshore accounts to domestic investments.

"These kinds of ideas weren't even considered," Rehberg said. "It was their bill or nothing."

Rehberg said the bill was further complicated by a series of earmarks that had the effect of winning votes for it.

Rehberg said Republicans have been frustrated by the way the House is being run, particularly the manner in which debate has been stifled and committees have been bypassed.

When Democrats won the majority, their first vote in picking Pelosi as speaker was their most important vote, because the speaker controls the House agenda, its rules and procedures.

Rehberg said he wanted a seat on the Appropriations Committee to have influence on the major spending bills that originate in the House.

But the Democratic leadership has been bypassing the committee, avoiding any Republican amendments. The House was supposed to pass 13 appropriations bills by Oct. 1, but it ended up passing only three, and none of them went through committee review, Rehberg said.

The Democrats' advantage is something that has been overlooked by the "mainstream media," he said, largely because it involves procedure.

"We complain every day," he said of House Republicans. "If you turn on C-Span you will see us debating [House rules] every day … Unless the mainstream media reports it, it does not exist."

Rehberg contends that the root cause of the financial crisis is clear.

"The problem was created by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," Rehberg said, referring to the government-sponsored enterprises that took on $3 trillion in risky loans under pressure from Congress.

"This was a government-created social engineering program that was destined to fail."

Rehberg said Congressional leaders such as Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Rep. Barney Frank, D-N.Y., were instrumental in expanding lending at the two enterprises and blocking efforts to restrain them.

He said President Bush and Sen. John McCain were among those who attempted to rein in Fannie and Freddie. And it is perplexing to Rehberg why Dodd and Frank are among those playing key roles in developing remedies for the financial crisis.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com