Financial reform hits bipartisan House

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., complained of "bailout fatigue," as a debate on the pros and cons of a regulatory overhaul bill reached the House in Washington.

"My constituents in Kansas and folks across the country have bailout fatigue," Jenkins said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, "the legislation says very clearly to Wall Street: The party is over," The New York Times reported Friday.

Democrats said Republicans were lined up behind the Wall Street firms that are seen as the primary culprits in the financial meltdown that preceded the recession. Republicans accused the Democrats as quick to run to a bailout option.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the Financial Services Committee, said there are "no taxpayer dollars" in the proposals beyond "burial cost," used to unwind failed firms in an orderly fashion.

With a vote on the bills expected Friday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said Republicans "are going to pay a very heavy price," for resisting the reform measures.

Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., said "substantiating and continuing a situation where you have bailouts, continuing a situation where you hurt jobs and expand the authority of government entities," was not in the country's best interest.

Urging some action, "it's time for Congress to put an end to do-nothing financial industry oversight," said Jim Guest, president of the Consumers Union.