Today's Ted Lieu press release: less sarcastic

Torrance Assemblyman Ted Lieu is still sending out rapid-fire press releases on the financial crisis, but today's edition is less sarcastic than earlier versions. Lieu is the former chair of the Assembly Banking Committee, and still heavily engaged in mortgage reform.

From today's release:

In the Assembly we know this is not a problem that happened overnight and we know that there won't be any magic solutions that will happen overnight.  That is why my colleagues and I are urging that the Bush Administration's Wall Street Bailout be done not just in a timely manner, but also done right.

Let's set aside for now the chutzpah of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson for demanding the largest taxpayer bailout in the history of the free world, demanding that he should get unfettered discretion to spend this largesse, and demanding that all of this be done in less than a week.  The question we should ask is, why should we trust him?  Secretary Paulson saw this crisis coming, it is on his watch, and he has repeatedly failed to act in a timely manner.  Remember Paulson's "Hope Now" solution to prevent foreclosures that he hyped at the beginning of this year?  I, consumer groups, and countless others repeatedly warned that Secretary Paulson's plan did virtually nothing to resolve the problem of unsustainable lending and uncontrolled foreclosures.  He proceeded with window dressing when fundamental reform was needed.

Secretary Paulson is now demanding that his last-minute bailout plan be jammed through in less than one week with no conditions.  There is no logical reason why the bailout plan cannot both be done in a timely manner and include fundamental and much needed reforms, such as banning the predatory practices that led to this crisis, fixing executive compensation, and helping homeowners facing foreclosure. 

It wouldn't be a Ted Lieu press release without a pitch for AB 1830, a package of mortgage reforms he authored that is now sitting on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

The nation's financial crisis has many moving parts and every level of government has a role to play.  For our part, the California legislature recently took a leadership role in developing solutions to this crisis by passing AB 1830 on a bipartisan basis to reform predatory practices and products in California's mortgage industry.  I call on Governor Schwarzenegger to demonstrate leadership on the issue and sign AB 1830. 

And he also can't resist another sarcasm-tinged "modest proposal":

Maybe he can also send a copy to his friends in the Bush Administration. Language similar to AB 1830, incorporated into the Wall Street bailout plan, would greatly improve the plan.