3 from Bay State reject a rescue

Lynch: ''This was largely placed on the shoulders of the American taxpayer.''

WASHINGTON - Three of the 10 members of the Massachusetts delegation voted against the financial bailout package yesterday, rejecting the advice of party leaders and their fellow Bay State congressman, Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank.

Stephen Lynch of Boston, William Delahunt of Quincy, and John Tierney of Salem were among 95 Democrats voting against the $700 billion bill, which was defeated by a margin of 228 to 205.

They portrayed their opposition largely in class terms, saying that working Americans would have to foot much of the cost to save ailing Wall Street firms but get little help and few guarantees that their nest eggs would be protected.

"Wall Street and the folks most likely to benefit from this bailout were not asked to contribute anything," Lynch said in a telephone interview. "This was largely placed on the shoulders of the American taxpayer. It is not in the best interest of the people who I represent."

Delahunt, calling the package "inadequate," told the Globe he could not support a bill that did not require the financial industry to kick in some money and did not provide relief for the record number of homeowners facing foreclosures because of Wall Street's bad judgment. "If you analyzed who would directly benefit, it was not the victims, but those who have benefited from this economic bubble," he said.

Like others, Delahunt lauded the efforts of Frank, who played a leading role in gaining the minimum taxpayer protections, "but, in good conscience, I couldn't support this."

Tierney, who did not respond to requests for an interview, said in a statement that he opposed the bill because it did not have enough "investment in helping homeowners, protections to ensure that the taxpayer will not have to absorb the full cost, and incentives to get the economy back on track."

The Democratic leadership said such concerns were addressed, but Tierney said that the bill "can be improved, and a different approach can be taken." He did not specify the different approach in his statement.

Several who supported the bill said they did so reluctantly.

Representative Niki Tsongas of Lowell said in a telephone interview that while she would have liked greater limits on executive compensation, among other changes, she was convinced that "the downside of failing to act was going to be greater than the outlay" required by the legislation.

Representative James McGovern of Worcester added that he voted for the bailout package despite reservations because a severely weakened economy will put at risk other priorities.

"I am a liberal, and the things I want to fight for - working people, poor people, relieving hunger - I can't fight for unless we take care of this first," McGovern said. "This isn't a perfect bill, but we need to stabilize the economy."

"Two issues convinced me to vote yes," McGovern added. "I believe doing nothing would be catastrophe, and I trust Barney Frank." Lynchheld out hope that his concerns can be resolved in negotiations.