I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The U.S. Senate voted today to release the second $350 billion of the TARP bill, by a 56-42 margin. The vote, on a bill where a “nay” vote indicated you were for releasing the funds and an “aye” vote indicated you were against it, featured both New Mexico senators on the same side — for releasing the funds.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman kept his position the same, voting for the release of the money, and was joined by his fellow Democrat, Sen. Tom Udall. Udall voted against the original bill in October while he was still a member of the House.
Udall explained his change of heart in a statement, saying, ““The circumstances have now changed.”
One important circumstance that has changed (or rather will change in less than a week) is the president.
“President-elect Obama has committed to me that in using these funds he will carefully reinvest in our economy with increased accountability and oversight to help stabilize our middle class,” Udall said. “He also committed to implementing the needed safeguards I have been advocating from the outset of this debate.”
In October Udall expressed concern over what was then being called “the bailout.” From a September, 2008 story by NMI’s own Heath Haussamen on the original vote, which failed in the House:
Udall, in a statement released by his office, said the Bush administration and its allies have spent eight years allowing Wall Street “to gamble with America’s economy, and the results have been devastating for Main Street.” He said the bailout bill “still contains significant flaws” and has “virtually no protections for American taxpayers.”
One of the reasons Udall said he voted against the original bill was that “little is being done to help responsible homeowners. Tens of thousands of families could lose their homes. More importantly, families who had nothing to do with failed mortgages could lose billions in assets as foreclosures continue to drive down property values.”
This time around, Udall’s statement said: “These funds will be used to help responsible homeowners renegotiate their mortgages or go into court to prevent foreclosures. It will prohibit funds from being used towards executive compensation and dividend payments. And it will put limits on stock buybacks and the acquisition of already strong companies. The House and Senate have also already begun hearings to investigate the root causes of the financial failures so we can take steps to prevent repeating the same mistakes.”
It is unclear if this would be a change from former Sen. Pete Domenici. Domenici, a Republican, voted for the original bill.
Bingaman has not issued a statement on the legislation yet.
