Michigan's Stabenow says bailout bill too costly

WASHINGTON - Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said Wednesday that Congress' bill to bail out the financial sector was too costly and failed to adequately address the housing crisis. Stabenow said she opposed last week's bailout bill in the Senate because it failed to do enough to help homeowners and unemployed workers. "I absolutely believe this is serious and real and has to be addressed. But $700 billion is a lot of money and in my judgment, it did not go to the heart of the issue, which is creating jobs and fixing the housing crisis," Stabenow said in a phone interview. She said "99 percent of the people we heard from" at her office opposed the bill. President Bush signed the $700 billion bailout legislation last week, allowing the government to spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other... [read full story]