The National Retail Federation today called on Congress to set aside partisan differences and act immediately on legislation to address the nation’s financial crisis.


“This week Congress is engaged in negotiations to address the most profound domestic crisis in decades, one that is threatening the very foundations of our economy,” NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin wrote in a letter to all members of the House and Senate. “On behalf of the National Retail Federation and the entire retail industry, I urge you to put politics aside and support legislative efforts to provide stability and integrity to our financial system.”


“Passage of this critical initiative is extremely time sensitive,” Mullin said. “If Congress does not act quickly, the liquidity of more financial institutions could be imperiled and the linchpin of our economic engine-credit and lending-will drastically decline or cease altogether.”


“This crisis is not just about Wall Street versus Main Street,” Mullin said. “It is about the two-way street that is our nation’s financial system, and it directly affects every American and every facet of our nation’s economy. Congress must act expeditiously and without partisanship. The nation and the world are watching.”


In a separate release, Overstock.com, Inc. chairman and CEO Patrick M. Byrne urged Congress to extract concessions from Wall Street as part of a proposed $700 billion bailout of the nation’s shaky financial sector.


In response to President Bush’s Wednesday night speech, Byrne issued a press release that lambasted Wall Street.

 

“This bailout is necessary to save the bacchanal that is our US financial system. However, at the core of the administration’s plan is the assumption that Wall Street is worth saving. It is not. For years Wall Street has bossed Washington, DC around like theyre hired flunkies, while preying on Main Street businesses and investors. The federal government should use this opportunity to extract from Wall Street concessions that could never be extracted were Washington in its customary subordinate position.

“If American taxpayers are to bailout the Power Elite, they should attach conditions. Taxpayers should share in any upside, and gaping flaws in the current system should be fixed,” Byrne continued.


Byrne said Congress should ensure that taxpayers share in the upside if the bailout works, that the stock settlement system be reformed to ensure more prompt settlement of trades and that short sellers should be much more closely monitored.