Herb Hoffman, Independent candidate for the United States Senate, says Bail Out Bill puts Constitution at Risk

Ogunquit, Maine: Herb Hoffman, Independent candidate for the United States Senate, today called upon Senators Collins and Snowe, Congressmen Allen and Michaud to not approve the “Bail Out” bill currently before the Congress. As presented by the Bush administration, “this bill, if passed, in its current form would seal the destruction of the balance of powers so carefully crafted in the Constitution of the United States. By resting sole authority in the Secretary of the Treasury to negotiate the rescue of publicly held corporations with tax payer money, to allow those responsible for the fiscal crisis to escape with the millions they have plundered and not be held accountable, and to rush this legislation at the behest of the Administration — as has been done with the initial Iraq resolution and the USA Patriot Act — would constitute dereliction of their oath of office,” Hoffman said.

“The Constitution has been repeatedly ignored, shredded, discarded by the Bush administration, aided and abetted with the complicity of Congress. Section 8 Review of this bill states, ‘Decisions by the Secretary [of the Treasury] pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.’ Thus, not only will the Congress be precluded from oversight [Section 4 Reports], but the ability of citizens to seek redress for grievances in the Courts as provided in the First Amendment is also precluded. The neutering of both the Congress and the Judiciary and the simultaneous wedding of the executive branch with corporate business fortifies the ‘imperial presidency’ and leaves no doubt that this is a fascist government.” according to Hoffman.

Hoffman acknowledged that the economic crisis is real and must be addressed in a thoughtful and careful manner by members of the Congress. “The first order of business,” according to Hoffman, “needs to be focused on rescuing the homes of our citizens and using treasury funds to provide a true economic stimulus that will create new jobs, new industries, new opportunities. The source of these funds must come from the bloated military budget [$1.1 trillion in FY ’08] not the printing of paper or loans from abroad.”

“The careful crafting of a bill by our Senators and Congressmen, designed to stabilize this nation’s economy, is essential – short of Impeachment – to preserve what is left of our Constitution,” said Hoffman.

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