David Dreier Votes “Yes” On Bailout Bill

Today, for the second time this week, David Dreier voted YES on the House version of the bailout bill. While many smart people disagree on the merits of this bill, on both sides of the aisle, it's worth exploring why Dreier supported this bill.

David Dreier will tell you that he hates the position we find ourselves in. He'll tell you that he supported this bill "reluctantly" and that it's a "necessary evil."

But here are a few things Dreier won't tell you:

• David Dreier received $254,000 in donations from the finance sector this cycle and $590,000 two years ago. Both times, this amount has represented more than two and a half times the donations he received from any other industry.

• The American Bankers Association was the top donor to David Dreier's American Success PAC this cycle.

• David Dreier continues to vote against bills that would have curbed this crisis. In May of 2008, Dreier voted with Bush against measures designed to impose "increased oversight and regulation of housing-related government sponsored entities." Sound familiar?

So let's get this straight. David Dreier takes hundreds of thousands of dollars from the people who got us into this mess, votes to obstruct government regulation of their industry and when they get in trouble he votes to give them a $700 billion taxpayer bailout?

Sure looks like they got their money's worth.

Open Secrets explored this connection between House members' votes on the first version of the bill on Monday and the level of donations they received from the financial sector:

Members of the House of Representatives who supported bailing out the financial sector with $700 billion in taxpayer money have received 51 percent more in campaign contributions from the finance, insurance and real estate sector in their congressional careers than those who opposed the emergency legislation, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics calculated following the 228-205 vote on Monday that defeated the House bill. [...]

The 65 Republicans who backed the bill have collected $1,078,533 from the finance sector in their careers and an average of $185,461 toward this election. The 133 Republicans who led the opposition to the bailout have collected, on average, $705,297 over their careers in Congress and $150,381 in this election cycle alone. That translates into a difference of about 23 percent in this cycle and 53 percent over time.

Since Open Secrets has been keeping track of donations in 1998, David Dreier has received a whopping $2 million from the financial sector, more than $800,000 of which was from the last 4 years alone.

Clearly, George W. Bush isn't the only one whose agenda David Dreier rubber stamps in Congress.

by Todd Beeton