Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 15, 1990 TAG: 9006150870
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGIE FISHER RICHMOND BUREAU
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Citing a Stanford University forecast that says the costs for rescuing insolvent S&Ls could exceed $1 trillion over the next four decades, Wilder wrote Bush:
"Our citizens must know the truth. They must be told the real facts of the effect this `bailout' will have upon them, their children and their children's children. The working men and women of this great nation must be apprised of the steps that are to be taken, and that must be taken, to heal this wound in the most fiscally responsible manner available."
Wilder proposed a non-partisan, independent investigation of the burgeoning S&L scandal during a trip last week to New Hampshire, where he did a little Bush-bashing over that and other national issues including nuclear proliferation and infant mortality.
But in his three-page letter, Wilder said, "Let me assure you that I have no interest in partisan `bashing,' nor do I have any political axes to grind."
Hitting both fiscally conservative and populist themes, the governor said his interest is simply the public's interest. Citizens must be "made aware of the price tag inherent in this crisis. Moreover, they must be assured that every reasonable step will be taken to solve the problem in the most fiscally responsible manner," Wilder said.
Specifically, Wilder wants Bush to create a "national commission of inquiry" to study the crisis and "make recommendations to rescue the United States from the fiscal devastation of the savings-and-loan debacle."
The commission's membership should be drawn from the investment, business, education and labor communities, Wilder said. Its charge should be to determine the true costs of the dilemma, discover the origins of the crisis, recommend remedies and recommend mechanisms and safeguards to prevent similar problems from occurring again.
"Moreover, the mandate to the commission must be clear: They must report their findings dispassionately, without any desire to protect the reputations of those responsible. In short, the direction should be to `let the chips fall where they may,' " Wilder said.
The governor told Bush that he is aware that both the administration and Congress already have conducted S&L investigations. "But those studies have yet to produce a thorough accounting of the failure of our nation's savings and loans. In view of the fact that the American people could well perceive both Congress and the administration as participants, it is imperative that an independent inquiry be initiated as soon as possible."
As an example, Wilder this week called for an end to U.S. contacts with the terrorist Palestine Liberation Organization in remarks before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington.
"But those studies have yet to produce a thorough accounting of the failure of our nation's savings and loans. In view of the fact that the American people could well perceive both Congress and the administration as participants, it is imperative that an independent inquiry be initiated as soon as possible."
Though Wilder has said he is
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