Dennis Shulman for U.S. Congress: Sensible Leadership for New Jersey’s 5th District

September 25th, 2008

 Garrett, Shulman spar over financial woes

By Jim Lockwood

9-25-08  -  As the nation’s economy tanks, U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett,  has proposed a bipartisan committee to investigate financial bailouts and is calling for “more transparency” from President Bush on how his $700 billion bailout plan was devised.

However, Garrett’s Democratic opponent in the Nov. 4 general election, Dennis Shulman, said that Garrett, a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, has been part of the problem that led to the financial crisis.

Garrett has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from financial-service firms and in March hired as his chief of staff a former lobbyist for Countrywide Financial, the nation’s former largest mortgage lender that earlier this year became synonymous with the financial-services meltdown.

“Garrett has his fingerprints on this one,” Shulman said of the ailing economy.

Garrett, who has been wary of taxpayer bailouts, disputed that assessment and said his efforts to stem problems in the financial-services sector have been opposed by Democratic leadership, and that he also previously called for investigating Countrywide Financial’s role in the economic mess.

“I’ve been fighting from the beginning and brought amendments in committee repeatedly,” Garrett said.
The economy is among the top issues in the race for New Jersey’s 5th District seat in the House of Representatives.

Last week, Garrett introduced a bipartisan bill to establish the Select Committee on Bailouts, a panel that would investigate actions taken by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department regarding Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG; and make recommendations to prevent future bailouts and examine the role of political activities and influence in exacerbating the current market situation.

On Tuesday, Garrett circulated among Republicans on Capitol Hill a letter he wrote to President Bush calling for more transparency and insight into the decision-making behind the $700 billion bailout plan.
“Rushing to pass a hastily-written plan . . . is not in the best interest of the taxpayer,” Garrett said. “We must ensure the American people that we have exhausted every other option available before turning to their wallets as the lender of last resort.”

Shulman said, “We should have more transparency, of course, but how did we get into this mess? We allowed a housing mortgage bubble to go on without any oversight or regulation. He (Garrett) should have been screaming about regulation, that these are not good loans, that the house of cards is going to come down.”

Garrett maintains a lead in fundraising, some of which came from dozens of contributions from financial/banking firms and PACs, including Countrywide Financial and AIG (American International Group), which was rescued by the government last week.

Shulman has pledged not to take campaign contributions from firms with interests on a House committee that he might serve on.

Garrett called such a pledge a political stunt.

“People doing business before your committee often are constituents and the issues we work on are issues on behalf of constituents,” Garrett said.

Shulman said there’s nothing wrong with Garrett talking to constituents who have matters involving the committee, but he should not take contributions from them.

The Garrett/Shulman race has been labeled by the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as one of 20 “emerging” contests in the nation where Democrats are hoping for upsets.

The district, which includes Warren County, most of Sussex County, the northern half of Bergen County and part of Passaic County, tends to give the GOP big pluralities at the polls.

Garrett, 49, who is known as New Jersey’s most conservative member of Congress, is a resident of Wantage in Sussex County, and handily defeated Democratic challengers in 2002, 2004 and 2006.

Shulman, 58, lives in Demarest in Bergen County. He is a psychologist and rabbi, and would become the first rabbi in Congress if elected.

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