GOP members warm to new rescue bill

Some Republicans who rejected the House financial rescue bill earlier this week indicated Wednesday that they may support a new version of the legislation when it is expected to hit the floor on Friday.

House GOP leaders are scrambling for votes after they thought 75 members were going to vote for the bailout on Monday but only 65 did.

{mosads}The Senate’s addition of popular tax provisions and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to ease “mark to market” accounting rules has nudged several GOP members closer to a yes vote.

In a release on Wednesday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) praised SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, calling it a victory for House Republicans. As the financial crisis escalated last month, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he would fire Cox, a former House member.

Boehner and Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) are under a tremendous amount of pressure to deliver more GOP votes on Friday, especially because some Democrats are complaining that the added Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) provisions are not offset.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Wednesday that Republicans need to deliver 35 more votes than the 65 they had Monday.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee who voted no on Monday, indicated he is open-minded about the new bill.

“Sure, it’s going to be a new vote,” Hoekstra said.

However, he said there was a large number of those who voted against the bill the first time who still feel “discomfort and hostility” toward the plan that was voted down with the help of 133 Republicans on Monday.

Hoekstra noted that the bill remains wildly unpopular in his Michigan district, adding that the dissatisfaction with the original bill among members came from the way it was initially presented to members by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

“There is a lot of resentment toward Paulson, there is a lot of resentment toward President Bush and there is a lot of resentment toward the Democrats that are putting this together,” he said.

Hoekstra said he had not been contacted by leadership and was unsure whether the vote was being whipped.
Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) told an Arizona radio station on Wednesday that the inclusion of $100 billion in tax breaks, in addition to an increase in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance for bank accounts — from $100,000 to $250,000 — could sway his vote.

A staunch conservative, Shadegg could bring several other votes with him should he choose to support the bill.

“If they make both of those changes, I’d be inclined to vote for the bill, assuming there have not been any bad things added to it,” Shadegg said on the radio station KTAR.

Despite McCain’s backing, not one Arizona Republican voted for the bailout measure on Monday.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who attended a press conference of rank-and-file GOP members to tout their “no” votes on Monday afternoon, also appears to be warming to the new legislation.

On Fox News on Wednesday, Blackburn said, “There are lots of things in that bill that gave me some heartburn. You know, it was too much of a bailout and not enough of a workout. And I will tell you, I’m pleased to see that the Senate and also the administration is making some progress.”

Asked if she will support the Senate bill, Blackburn responded, “We’re going to wait and see what the bill is.”
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), ranking member of the ethics committee, is waiting to review the Senate package before making a decision, according to his spokesman.

{mospagebreak}Hastings was one of 10 ranking members who rejected the bill on Monday.

“He’s not going to pre-judge a Senate bill before it is finalized, but with or without the Senate tax extenders, Congressman Hastings will vote based on the provisions of the bailout bill itself,” Hastings spokesman Will Marlow said.

{mosads}The addition of language on rural schools and the Exxon Valdez oil spill could cause Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) to vote yes. Young is the ranking member on the Natural Resources Committee.

Other members could feel pressure based on how their home-state senator votes. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) were expected to vote for the package Wednesday night, which would increase the pressure on some House Texans, such as Reps. Joe Barton (R) and Mike Conaway (R).

“I understand the severity of the current economic situation in this country,” said Conaway. “It will not be an easy decision or one that I take lightly.”

A statement from Barton was far more critical of the Senate bill, and said that his office continues to receive an overwhelming number of calls opposing a bailout package.

“The bailout legislation that the Senate is sending back to the House is a fraternal twin to the one I voted against on Monday — meet the new bill, same as the old bill,” he said. “I’m kind of an old-fashioned guy, and I think we ought to pay for what we do as a government, but instead we’re talking about adding $1.5 trillion to our national debt and forcing our children to pay the cost.”

President Bush, a former governor of Texas, called a few GOP members in the Texas delegation to encourage them to vote for the rescue package on Monday, but only four voted for it.

Bush is expected to lobby House members again on Thursday and Friday to vote for the new bill.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said on Wednesday, “We feel there’s a sense of momentum.”

Two calls that Blunt and Boehner are unlikely to make are to members of their own leadership team.

When leaders started to turn up the pressure last week on Conference Secretary Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), the former judge told them, “I’ve been in a pressure cooker my whole life. I tried five death-penalty cases. There isn’t any more pressure than that.”

Policy Chairman Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) told Fox Business News on Wednesday that he would not support the revamped Senate bill.

“No, I don’t think that the middle-class tax relief should be premised upon the concept of bailing out Wall Street. I think the FDIC is something that should be done,” he said. “I think that middle-class tax relief [and] reductions in the AMT suspensions should be done, but I don’t think that they should be tied to this bill in order to try get it through.”

Sam Youngman contributed to this article.