By JIM BARON

Congressman James Langevin likens the $700 billion bailout finalized by the House of Representatives Friday to Rhode Island’s 1991 banking crisis, when then-Gov. Bruce Sundlun ordered most of the state’s credit unions to close and tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders and small businesses could not get their money out for months.

When that was all over, Langevin said, “the depositors were made whole, our financial system in Rhode Island was protected and the amount of money we spent was far less than the initial projected cost.
“The same thing will happen here,” the 2nd District congressman said. “We hope we can break even and maybe even make a profit in many cases. There may be a cost at the end of the day, but it will be much less than $700 billion.”
Langevin and 1st District Rep. Patrick Kennedy both voted for the bill for a second time on Friday, when it passed the House by a vote of 263-171.
On Monday, the measure was defeated in the House on a 205-228 vote. Modifications were made to the bill after that defeat and a similar version passed the Senate Wednesday. It was that Senate version that the House passed Friday and President George W. Bush signed it into law just hours later.
Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment on the momentous vote, but a posting on his Web site said: “The legislative package that passed today also includes strong oversight provisions for the implementation of this plan, reimburses taxpayers in the future, and provides that any profits will be shared with them. 
“This is truly a rescue plan for the American people.  It is crucial to maintaining access to credit lines so that employers can make payroll, so that students can take out college loans, and so that taxpayers don’t see their access to mortgages or car loans dry up.
“This bipartisan plan was crafted to stabilize our economy and prevent a catastrophic financial crisis before its consequences become irreversible,” he said. “I understand the concerns my constituents have expressed over the past weeks about shifting tax dollars to Wall Street and that is why I have stressed all along that this bill needed to address household finances and offer protections for taxpayers.
“I am pleased that the Democratic leadership was able to develop legislation that will take steps to safeguard taxpayer dollars, help small businesses, and prevent an avalanche of foreclosures that could decimate local communities. If we fail to ease this devastating credit crunch, our constituents will ultimately be the ones to pay the price.”
“People are angry because they believe this is a bailout for Wall Street,” Langevin said in an interview shortly after the early afternoon vote. “That is not the case, and if it were, I would have been first in line to vote no.
“Clearly our financial system was in jeopardy, our credit market was seizing up,” he explained. “That would have affected Main Street America’s ability to get access to home loans, equity loans, car loans, student loans and the ability of businesses to access credit for current operations or expansion or even to meet payroll. All of these things affect Main Street America and we had to do something to protect our financial system.
“When people who go to work and expect a paycheck, and all of a sudden they go in and the company says, sorry we can’t give you a paycheck because the bank wouldn’t give us a short-term loan that we usually get to cover payroll, then very quickly, people would see how dramatically this credit crisis could affect Main Street America,” Langevin said.
Will this bill bring that protection?
“Nothing is certain,” he conceded, “but according to the experts that I listened to — and I’m convinced that they’re right — this was a step that was needed to protect our credit market.”
A drying up of credit would not have just affected individuals and businesses, he noted; the state and cities and towns also rely on borrowing money in anticipation of taxes and other revenues. On Thursday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger warned the U.S. Treasury that his state may have to borrow up to $7 billion in cash to run day-to-day operations because it has been unable to obtain the short-term loans it usually uses for that purpose.
“I know there are a lot of people in Rhode Island who are angry that this bill had to be taken up, that our financial system got into trouble and now we had to float a rescue package to the tune of $700 billion,” Langevin acknowledged. “I want my constituents to know that I am as angry as they are and I want answers and I want people to be held accountable for this.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who called the legislation “an important step forward for America,” said after the House vote: “The crisis on Wall Street is already reverberating on Main Street, and while this measure isn’t perfect, it will help put the brakes on our downward economic spiral — and will give worried Rhode Island families a measure of assurance that they have not been forgotten.”