ah ha! my first semi-intelligent response from a politician that received my petition: (Quigley is a fiscally conservative democrat in the house from Illinois)
Dear XX. XXXXX:
Thank you for contacting me with your concerns regarding H.R. 4191, the Let Wall Street Pay for Wall Street's Bailout Act of 2009. Your views are important to me, and I appreciate hearing from you.
H.R. 4191 seeks to place a .25% tax on each covered securities transaction involving financial instruments such as futures, stocks and options. The basic purpose of this excise tax would be to recoup funds spent through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). I agree that there were not sufficient oversight provisions included in the original TARP program, and I support all efforts to increase oversight of taxpayer funds spent to bolster private enterprise in the current recession.
As you know, opponents of H.R. 4191 point to the fact that imposing a tax on all covered securities transactions would hurt average investors by increasing trading costs, rather than impact the banks and brokerages at which it is targeted. Additionally, there is fear that this legislation may lead to greatly diminished liquidity and high volatility in the marketplace, negative side effects that could further imperil economic recovery. H.R. 4191 has been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and now awaits further action. Should this bill be considered on the House floor, please be assured that I will cast my vote with your concerns in mind.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts on this important matter. Please feel free to visit my website,
www.house.gov/quigley, for periodic updates on my work and to sign up for my e-newsletter, and do not hesitate to contact me again about issues of concern to you. It is an honor to serve you in the U.S. Congress.
Sincerely,
Mike Quigley
Member of Congress
He does confuse H.R. 4191 with H.R. 1068, but I'll give him a break since he seems to understand the consequences more than the other responses I received.
