The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

The bailout bill passed the House by a wide margin, 263-171, with Randy Kuhl's vote.

Update: Here are the details. All the Western New York delegation voted for the bill. Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY-20] remained opposed.

Randy Kuhl is "still reviewing" the bailout bill, but he predicts passage, according to coverage of his morning press call by 13-WHAM and the Buffalo News.

Reader Elmer sends the Corning Leader's coverage of Eric Massa's non-debate in Bath [pdf] (and jump [pdf]).

Reader Tom sends Bob Rolfe's Leader column [gif], which is critical of Kuhl's bailout vote.

WENY has a story about the non-debate in Bath. This is the event that was supposed to be sponsored by the League of Women Voters, but after Randy Kuhl and State Senator George Winner declined to attend, it became a candidate forum.

WENY also quotes Kuhl as follows on the new bailout bill:

What I’m going to be looking for is to see whether or not the taxpayer has been really hung out to dry. Is it going to pick up the cost of the bailout at the expense of those unscrupulous lenders on Wall Street or whether or not there's significant protection for that person.

As far as I can tell, the taxpayer protections in the new bill, which amount to getting equity in the company that we're bailing out, are the same as the old bill.

The latest news from the House is that it looks like the opposition to the bill is dying down. Democrats are going to ask for a formal whip count and list from Republicans before the vote, to avoid a repeat of Monday's embarrassment.

The Star-Gazette and WENY are asking for questions for their October 13 debate.

(via Rochesterturning)

Randy Kuhl's spokeswoman Meghan Tisinger tells Gannett that Kuhl's staff is "still studying reviewing" the bailout bill that passed the Senate last night.

This bill's bailout provisions are essentially the same as Monday's bill. But it's full of sweeteners, including a tax credits for alternative energy, and raising the limit for the Alternative Minimum Tax exemption. It also includes some strange special interest provisions, like these two:

• Extend cost recovery period for motor racing tracks.
• Exempt from excise tax certain wooden arrow shafts for use by children.

There's at least one change actually related to the current economic crisis: raising the limit of FDIC-insured deposits from $100K to $250K.

McClatchy has a great rundown on the bill.

The Swing State Project has a report in the new ad buy in NY-26. The DCCC is dropping $168K on ads in that district. (via The Albany Project)

According to Swing State's tally, the DCCC has spent less than $10K in the 29th.

For the reader who asked how Massa would have voted on Monday, here's your answer:

Let me be very clear, I did not support the bill the Bush Administration brought to Congress, I did not support the bill the House voted on Monday afternoon, and I could not support the bill the Senate is working on today as it is currently written. I will only support a bill which creates an independent, non-partisan oversight committee like the Resolution Trust Corporation.

Update: Here's the whole release.

Almost every newspaper in the district, and many outside the district, quote or mention Kuhl or Massa in coverage of the bailout:

• The Elmira Star-Gazette has Massa's take on Kuhl's bailout proposal.
• 13-WHAM mentions Kuhl's vote against the bailout along with Louise Slaughter's angry response to the bill's failure.
• The Democrat and Chronicle covers Massa's response to the bailout bill, editorializes that a bailout is necessary, and quotes the head of Wegmans saying that bailout is necessary.
• The Syracuse Post-Standard editorializes for the bailout, calling the bill's defeat "shameful"
• Buffalo's News 4 has a story on the plan, with a couple of Kuhl quotes.
• Both Massa and Kuhl are quoted in today's USA Today about the bill, with Massa saying that the inability of "a very few partisan ideologues" to compromise was the reason the bill didn't pass.
• And the Edmonton, Alberta Sun quotes Kuhl saying that 97% of the calls to his office were anti-bailout.

Eric Massa unveiled his tax plan [pdf] at his press conference today. That, and bailout reaction, after the break.

The Hornell Evening Tribune and the Messenger-Post both have bailout stories.

The Messenger-Post also has a story on Kuhl's ad on the Canandaigua VA hospital. It looks into the bi-partisan history of saving the hospital, much of which occurred before Kuhl took office.