Obama calls bailout a 'blank check'

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-22 10:42

US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama heaped criticism Sunday on President Bush's mortgage-bailout blueprint, calling it a "blank check" for the administration and Wall Street with insufficient safeguards for taxpayers and homeowners.

US Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama speaks during a campaign stop in Charlotte, N.C., September 21, 2008. [Agencies]

"Thus far, the administration has only offered a concept with a staggering price tag, not a plan," Obama said in a statement. "This crisis started with homeowners and they bear the brunt of the nearly unprecedented collapse in housing prices. We cannot have a plan for Wall Street banks that does not help homeowners stay in their homes and help distressed communities."

Obama on Friday had embraced the concept of the bailout, and his statement does not change that. Sen. John McCain, his rival for the presidency, has been noncommittal.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Sunday shows that the administration would resist additions to the skeleton of the $700 billion plan sent to Capitol Hill on Saturday. Specifically, Paulson said he was opposed to limits on executive compensation for financial institutions, an idea embraced by the Obama response.

Like some congressional leaders, Obama said the administration's three-page outline does not permit sufficient oversight.

"If we grant the Treasury broad authority to address the immediate crisis, we must insist on independent accountability and oversight," Obama said. "Given the breach of trust we have seen and the magnitude of the taxpayer money involved, there can be no blank check."