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US expects you to pass bailout plan, Bush tells House rebels
GEORGE Bush told Congress' lower house today that the state of the US' troubled economy "demands" that it followed the Senate's lead and passed a £385bn rescue package.
Mr Bush said the Bill was "essential to the financial security of every American" after it was passed in the Senate by 74 votes to 25.
The Senate stepped in and added more than $100bn (56.2bn) of sweeteners to the proposals after the Bill's surprise rejection by members of the House of Representatives shocked the world earlier this week.
The House will now get a second chance to vote on the amended proposals tomorrow before the Bill can be sent to the president to be signed into law.
Mr Bush applauded the Senate for its "strong bipartisan vote".
He praised those involved in the negotiations and said: "They worked across the aisle to make vital improvements to the rescue package I sent Congress last month - including an expansion of deposit insurance that will help protect the savings of American families and small businesses.
"The Bill the Senate passed is essential to the financial security of every American."
He added: "With the improvements the Senate has made, I believe members of both parties in the House can support this legislation.
"The American people expect - and our economy demands - that the House pass this good Bill this week and send it to my desk."
But the Bill, seen by many Americans as a $700bn (385bn) bail-out of Wall Street, is still expected to meet tough opposition in the House.
It was the House Republicans who were seen as the biggest obstacle to getting the Bill passed on Monday, with 133 Republicans and 95 Democrats refusing to back the rescue package.
They seemed to be pleased by the Senate amendments, but some conservative House Democrats, known as "Blue Dogs", will be repulsed by the inclusion of tax breaks and could vote No because they do not want to see the country's deficit run up even further.
Steny Hoyer, the House Democratic majority leader, said: "I'm concerned about that."
A second House vote is unlikely to be taken unless US political leaders are sure the Bill has the support of its members.
The first vote against the proposals sent the Dow Jones Industrials Average into a record 777.68 point drop - more than on the first day of trading after the September 11 terror attacks - and political and financial leaders will be keen to avoid a repeat of such a scenario.
US presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama shook hands on the floor of the Senate before they both backed the Bill, as did Delaware senator Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee.
Republican senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, said the vote showed the Senate "at its finest".
"In the years that I've been here I can't recall a single time where, in this close proximity to an election, both sides have risen above the temptation to engage in partisan game-playing, if you will, to address an issue of magnitude, great magnitude," he said.
"It doesn't entirely solve the problem, but it begins to move us in the direction of getting the American economy back where it needs to be very soon."
Democratic senator Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, said it was a measure for Main Street, not Wall Street, and praised the work of Democratic senator Chris Dodd and his Republican colleague Judd Gregg, who helped negotiate the deal.
The Senate specialises in high-stakes legislating-by-enticement, and the long list of sweeteners it added was designed to attract votes from various constituencies which opposed the original Bill.
These amendments included $100bn (55.6bn) in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class and raised the cap on federal deposit insurance from $100,000 (55,600) to $250,000 (139,000).
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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