-------- Original Message --------

Subject:
Correspondence from Senator Warner
Date:
Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:23:16 -0400
From:
<Correspondence_NoReply@warner.senate.gov>
To:

October 16, 2008

Mrs. Ward
Buena Vista, Virginia 24416

Dear Mrs. Ward:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Emergency Economic

Stabilization
Act (EESA). I appreciate your views on the matter.

As you know, on October 3, 2008, the President signed the EESA

(P.L.110-343)
into law. Previously, the Senate passed the measure by a vote of 74 to 25, and the
House
of Representatives passed it by a vote of 263 to 171.

While this legislation certainly isn't perfect, I voted in favor of

final passage of
the Act. Without some form of congressional action, the credit markets could
freeze and
without money flowing through the economy, car loans, student loans, mortgage
lines of
credit, could become inadequate. Job losses could follow and with it an increase
in the
number of Americans without health insurance. After careful deliberations on the
legislation and my understanding of the economic problems facing our nation, I
believe
that the consequences of not taking action could pose an ever greater threat to
our
economy and to all Americans.

The EESA enacted into law authorizes the Treasury Secretary to

implement the
Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), a program which allows the government to
purchase up to $700 billion worth of troubled assets from financial institutions,
such as
mortgages or mortgage-related securities. The government is expected to earn some
money back from TARP as the Treasury sells securities back to private holders or
holds
them to maturity. Proceeds and profits from the sale of troubled assets will be
returned to
the federal government and dedicated to paying down the national debt.

The Act also contains several important provisions designed to protect

American
taxpayers. The measure limits executive compensation and prohibits "golden
parachutes"
in companies that the Treasury buys assets from directly. Additional oversight is
created,
including an independent Inspector General to watch over the implementation of
TARP
and a Congressional Oversight Panel to review the current state of financial
markets and
review the Secretary's actions under TARP. The Act also requires the government to
take
an equity stake in companies that sell substantial amounts of assets to the
program.

Significant tax relief measures also are included in the Act, in

particular,
provisions to help businesses and the jobs they support continue to produce clean
and
renewable energy. These tax relief measures will help bring the nation one step
closer to
breaking its dependence from foreign oil. The Act also provides a patch to protect
22
million middle-income taxpayers from a $62 billion tax increase due to the
Alternative
Minimum Tax (AMT). Originally meant to prevent higher-income taxpayers from taking

advantage of tax benefits to avoid paying taxes, the AMT was never indexed for
inflation,
and without the AMT patch, more middle-class Americans would have been impacted.
Finally, provisions are included to require mental health parity in health
insurance
coverage. Such parity, which I have long supported, will help improve mental
health
insurance benefits.

Again, thank you for the benefit of your views.

With kind regards, I am

Sincerely,

John W. Warner
United States Senator

Please note this email address does not accept incoming email. Should you wish to
share additional views with me, please do not hesitate to visit my website at
http://warner.senate.gov/contact/offices.htm; call my office at 202-224-2023; or
write to me at United States Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510