The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a revised 700-billion-dollar bailout plan, which will authorize the U.S. government the largest financial intervention since the Great Depression.
The bailout plan, which was passed by a vote of 74-25, was approved after a package of tax breaks for businesses, energy and the middle class, and an increase in bank deposit insurance were added in.
Under the new bill, the federal government will be authorized to purchase the assets from banks and other financial institutions, which is expected to help enable them to resume lending to businesses and consumers.
The new version approved by the Senate will raise federal deposit insurance limits to 250,000 dollars from 100,000 dollars per account, as suggested by the two White House hopefuls a day ago.
Another big change is the introduction of a 10-year, 150.5-billion package of tax proposals, including measures to ease the bit of the so-called alternative minimum tax and R&D tax credits coveted by high-tech companies and drug makers.
The changes in the bill were quantifiable, with the initial proposal from the Treasury Department running three pages while the latest version exceeding 450.
The measure now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote that is likely on Friday.
The Bush Administration and key lawmakers warned earlier that economic crisis will become a full-fledged disaster if Congress rejects the rescue plan.
"The Senate's going to take this bill up tonight, I'm hopeful they'll pass it, and then the House will have a chance to vote on it Friday morning," Bush told reporters at the end of meeting with Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan.
"It's very important for members to take this bill very seriously," said the president, noting the legislation is needed "to stabilize the situation, so it doesn't get worse."
His remarks came two days after the U.S. House of Representatives voted narrowly to reject the 700-billion-dollar financial rescue bill that the Bush administration and leading members of Congress had agreed was necessary.
"The bill is different. It has been improved and I am confident it will pass," Bush said.
Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, also urged the Senate to pass the bill. "This is what we need to do right now, to prevent the possibility of a crisis turning into a catastrophe," he said. "Let's do what's right for the country at this time, because the time to act is now."
His Republican rival John McCain took the same position on the issue, urging his colleagues in the Senate to approve the plan. "If we fail to act, the gears of our economy will grind to a halt," he said.
As the shape of the new bill became clearer on Wednesday, some lawmakers in the House indicated that they might change their minds.
Representative John Shadegg of Arizona, who voted against the original bill on Monday, told a Phoenix radio station Wednesday that he'd be "inclined to vote for the bill" after the changes.
When asked if he was ready to switch from no to yes, Representative Steve LaTourette reacted cautiously. "Not yet, but it's getting there," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 2, 2008)