Rep. Walter Jones votes against auto bailout

NEW BERN - Most North Carolina members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Walter B. Jones and G.K. Butterfield, voted against a $15 billion auto industry bailout.

Of the state's 13 congressmen, only Bob Etheridge, Brad Miller, David Price and Mel Watt voted with House members in favor of the bill, which passed 237 to 170 but mired down in the U.S. Senate on Thursday.

"Just as I could not support the $700 billion taxpayer bailout for the financial services industry, I cannot support emergency loans for automakers without proper protections for the American taxpayers who are forced to foot the bill," Jones said. "We still do not have a full accounting of the $700 billion bailout package passed by Congress in October."

He added, "No one wants to see the big three automakers fail and their employees out of work, but the government is not offering bailouts to the North Carolina businesses and factories that are shutting their doors."

Jones said that "many taxpayers face just as difficult of an environment as the companies they are being forced to bailout - the kind of bailout for which individuals and small businesses are ineligible to apply."

Some local business people agree that conditions are difficult in the region.

Greg Isley, a partner in the McGladrey and Pullen accounting firm, said that "Eastern North Carolina has not been immune to the economic downturn which has affected the United States and businesses, large and small, in our area are feeling the impact."

He continued, "Issues that our firm has seen include increased inventories, difficulty obtaining capital, difficulty with accounts receivable and accounts payable. While the military presence in eastern North Carolina has reduced the impact of economic downturns in the past, it has not been able to completely shield our area from this most recent decline."

Frustration is rampant, Jones said.

"The people of Eastern North Carolina are frustrated - and with good reason," he said. "With each citizen's share of the national debt at nearly $35,000 before this bailout, the American people do not need to be saddled with even more debt.

"I am open to alternative proposals that would fundamentally restructure the automotive companies to make them viable for the future, without putting taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars. But I am not convinced that American taxpayers should serve as ATM's for auto executives who continue to have their cars assembled in countries outside of the U.S."