Democratic Virginia Rep. Jim Moran told The Daily Caller that America “can’t afford” to lose the 18,500 jobs provided by Twinkie-maker Hostess Brands, though he said President Barack Obama probably wouldn’t support a bailout of the company.
“I’m sorry to see the job loss, but I’ve managed to stay away from Twinkies and Wonder Bread for several years, so it’s not going to affect my life much,” Moran, a member of the House appropriations committee, told TheDC at the Capitol on Friday. “But I am sorry that it affects, in all seriousness, affects the lives of 18,500 people, that’s a damn shame. Can’t afford to lose that large a number of jobs.”
TheDC asked Moran if he would support a bailout of Hostess, given that the federal government rescued General Motors in 2009. President Obama made the auto bailout a central focus of his re-election campaign platform. (RELATED: Twinkies, Ho Hos boxes going for $100 or more on eBay)
“I don’t think there are going to be any more bailouts. I don’t think the Republican leadership in the House would sanction any more bailouts. I doubt the White House would recommend it, so you know, the bailouts were during the Bush administration, when it was a very different climate,” Moran said.
Hostess had told its employees that the company would liquidate if enough striking workers did not return to the job by Thursday evening. After too few showed up on Thursday, Hostess announced its decision to liquidate.
“We deeply regret the necessity of today’s decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike,” Hostess’s chief executive, Gregory F. Rayburn, said in a statement.