senate passes bailout/rescue, house votes next

from dpa: The Senate approved a $700 billion financial rescue package Wednesday night that members said was essential to keep the world's largest economy from near-total collapse. Senate leaders hoped the 74-25 vote would send a strong signal to the lower House of Representatives, which rejected an earlier version of the bail-out plan on Monday and sent U.S. stocks into a free-fall. "We have sent a clear message that we will not let this economy fail for any American," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, the top Democrat in the Senate.

read the bill: emergency economic stabilization act of 2008
The latest version of package legislation which includes the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act can be found here: Click link. For one-page summary of the EESA: Click link. For section-by-section analysis of the EESA: Click link.

the bailout & what's next
from dennis kucinich: Yesterday marked a day that will go down in history, when Congressional Democrats and Republicans alike took on full responsibility to protect the interests of taxpaying Americans, and defeated the deceptive bail out bill, defying the dictates of the Administration, the House Majority Leadership, the House Minority Leadership and the special interests on Wall Street. Obviously Congress must consider quickly another course. There are immediate issues which demand attention and responsible action by the Congress so that the taxpayers, their assets, and their futures are protected.

house girds for 2nd try on financial rescue
from ap: House members are getting another chance to vote on a financial bailout bill that has infuriated millions of voters after the Senate added tax cuts and other sweeteners and passed it handily. Senators advanced the much-criticized measure in a 74-25 vote late Wednesday, sending it to the other side of the Capitol for a showdown vote expected Friday. The move was calculated to win over enough dissenting House members to get the bill through and reverse Monday's stunning defeat in the House. Party leaders there planned to press rank-and-file members Thursday for the dozen converts they believe they need.

once 3 pages, bailout bill now length of novel
from ap: Two Saturdays ago, it totaled just three pages — the White House's request for $700 billion to rescue tottering financial institutions by buying their devalued mortgage-related assets. After an intense weekend of negotiations, the draft of the bailout legislation before Congress had swelled to 42 pages. The following Friday, after almost a week of marathon talks between Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and key lawmakers in both parties, the working version was up to 102 pages. It went down to defeat Monday in the House, mostly at the hands of Republicans. Once the Senate was finished adding sweeteners Wednesday to entice reluctant House Republicans to change their minds and vote for the bailout, the bill heading for passage had grown to 451 pages. It was unclear whether it would expand still more as House leaders hunted for the votes needed to clear the bill.