Published: September 25, 2008 11:15 am      

Inhofe, Rice react to Bush speech

OKLAHOMA CITY — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Rice said he would support a financial industry bailout plan outlined by President Bush Wednesday night only if it included meaningful oversight, protection for taxpayers and limits on executive compensation.

"There's got to be some kind of punitive aspect to this to those who made reckless decisions," Rice, a first-term state senator from Oklahoma City, said following Bush's televised speech to the nation in which he warned that the failure of Congress to act on the $700 billion plan could lead to "a long and painful recession."

"There's going to have to be some limits on excessive profits. There's got to be much more transparency," Rice said.

Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe repeated earlier assertions that he will oppose Bush's plan unless it contains more accountability and oversight.

"Certainly everyone appreciates the seriousness of the nation's financial crisis," Inhofe said. "Yet, too many major questions remain regarding the details of this massive bailout.

"Until a proposal is put forward that ensures we have transparency, accountability and meaningful oversight, I simply cannot place my support behind it."

Rice, who opposes Inhofe in the Nov. 4 general election, said Bush was "appropriately humble" as he spoke about the bailout plan in a prime-time address in which he talked "genuinely to the people of the country."

"I don't know if he went far enough," Rice said, adding that the financial crisis poses "a major danger" to the nation's economy.

"There's going to have to be some sort of relief package," Rice said. "If we do it wrong, we could really be paying the consequences for a while."

Rice blamed the financial meltdown on the economic policies of the Bush administration and "raw, uninhibited deregulation" supported by Inhofe since his election to the Senate in 1994.

"We're in this mess by large measure because of the deregulation that was done," Rice said. "It just seems unbelievable to me. I don't know that he quite gets it."

"My office has received many calls and e-mails from outraged Oklahomans upset that they are being asked to pay for the abuses and failures of Wall Street, this administration and those in Congress who turned a blind eye," Rice said. "Count me among the angriest of Oklahomans."

Inhofe said it was vital that the American people hear from Bush "at a time when American taxpayers are being asked to pick up the tab for poor decisions made on Wall Street by way of a $7 billion bailout."

He said his opposition to the plan is based on its size and the speed with which it is being pushed through Congress.

"...Rather than rushing a proposal through Congress so members can leave town by the end of the week, Congress should focus on protecting taxpayers and seeking viable alternatives to address the financial crises," Inhofe said.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress are reportedly nearing agreement on the rescue legislation, the most sweeping government intervention in the market since the Great Depression, and have set a meeting early Thursday to draft a bipartisan bill.