WGEM.com: Quincy News, Weather, Sports, and RadioSchock says banking bailouts are "a dangerous precedent"

Schock says banking bailouts are "a dangerous precedent"

QUINCY, ILL (WGEM) -- U.S. Congressman Aaron Schock is speaking out against AIG's current finanical situation.

Schock was in Quincy this morning for a community leaders' breakfast hosted by state representative Jil Tracy. He lashed out against President Obama's stimulus package and bailout packages in the banking and automotive industries.

It's a very dangerous slope we're going down in this government right now in picking winners and losers," Schock said. "Picking winners and losers in the banking sector with AIG and Citigroup, saying, ‘Well, they're too big to fail'." I think that's a very dangerous precedent to set."

AIG, which has received over $173-billion in bailout dollars, plans to hand out $165-million in executive bonuses.

"These banks will recover with small community banks that have been responsible with their lending," Schock said. "But to continue to bailout big banks like AIG, we're really taking money from responsible community banks like those here in Quincy and giving it to crooks out on Wall Street."

Schock said that any economic stimulus needs to be targeted towards small business, where he says over 80-percent of the country is employed, and not towards corporate giants.

"I believe in the profit motive and I believe in free market principles of our economy and that one man's failure will lead to an opportunity to create jobs," Schock said.

Schock says the Democrats "ramrodded" the economic stimulus package through Congress and says the AIG situation is an example of why more discussion and scrutiny was needed in Congress.

"I think right now, they're (Democratic Party) salivating at the power they have. You've seen that in the past two months," Schock said. "The stimulus bill for example, was debated on and voted on in less than 24 hours. There were over 200 amendments to that bill. Over 100 of them were Democratic amendments that she (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) wouldn't allow members of her own party to try and make the bill better."

Schock says he recently spoke to President Obama about the need for bipartisan action and not just talk. He said he believes the President is open to bipartisanship, but says the Democratic leaders in Congress have proven to be a roadblock.