Pat Dollard

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Makes good sense to me…especially when you consider how many small businesses use regular bank checking accounts. Contrary to what liberal Dems want you to believe, it is small busineeses that are the backbone of America, not the Gub-mint.

John McCain and Barack Obama both called on the government to raise the federal deposit insurance limit from $100,000 to $250,000 Tuesday, as a way to help make the failed economic bailout package more palatable.

The presidential candidates stressed that the rescue plan must pass Congress, after the House on Monday balked at approving the $700 billion proposal. Both candidates spoke with President Bush Tuesday morning, in a conversation White House spokesman Tony Fratto called “very constructive.”

“I know that we have to act,” McCain told FOX News Tuesday, acknowledging that he was unable to sway enough Republicans to back the bill during his trip to Washington last week. “Even though we failed yesterday, even though I went back and was able to get more Republicans on board, or help get more Republicans on board, we will go back to this, and I will be engaged always where I think America needs engagement.”

He said he strongly recommended to Bush raising the FDIC limit to $250,000 and that he would put his campaign “on the back burner if necessary” in the days ahead to deal with problem.

“I’ll do whatever is necessary that I think can be effective. And if we fail the first time, it won’t be the first time,” he said.

McCain said he also recommended to Bush that the Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund of $250 billion be used to shore up institutions and that the Treasury exercise its ability to buy up $1 trillion in mortgages.

In a statement earlier Tuesday, Obama said Congress should not start over as lawmakers consider their next move in the wake of the House’s rejection of what he called “the economic rescue plan.”

“Given the progress we have made, I believe we are unlikely to succeed if we start from scratch or reopen negotiations about the core elements of the agreement. But in order to pass this plan, we must do more,” he said.

Obama said the current federal guarantee of up to $100,000 in bank deposit insurance, a limit set nearly 30 years ago, is adequate for most families but insufficient for many small businesses.

Raising the limit to $250,000 “would boost small businesses, make our banking system more secure and help restore public confidence in our financial system,” he said.

Obama said jobs, retirement savings and economic security for all Americans hang in the balance as Congress considers what to do next.

Both candidates avoided the term “bailout,� after the 228-205 vote Monday sparked the largest sell-off on Wall Street since the day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The plan had the bipartisan support of congressional leaders, but about two-thirds of Republicans and about one-third of Democrats in the House voted against it. Polls showed widespread public disapproval for the plan.

“While I, like others, am outraged that the reign of irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has created the current crisis, I also know that continued inaction in the face of the gathering storm in our financial markets would be catastrophic for our economy and our families,” Obama said.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., an independent federal agency created in 1933, insures deposits in banks and thrift institutions for at least $100,000. Premiums paid by member institutions and investment earnings in Treasury securities fund the agency, which has an insurance fund of more than $49 billion, according to its Web site.

The FDIC says it insures more than $3 trillion in deposits and already provides up to $250,000 in insurance for retirement accounts such as individual retirement accounts and Keoghs. A five-person bipartisan board of directors appointed by the president manages the agency.

(Fox)