Bailout: Senate to vote Wednesday - 經濟

美國的紓困案在眾議院被否決，但即將要在參議院進行投票表決，各位
看倌就近即期待結果，雖然最近因為美國的金融風暴，使得全世界弄得灰頭土臉，
但後續結果還要再觀察下去了，請看下回分曉。



Bailout: Senate to vote Wednesday
The bailout package adds new provisions - including raising the FDIC
insurance cap. Democratic sources tell CNN that they expect bipartisan
support.

By CNNMoney.com staff
Last Updated: October 1, 2008: 4:12 AM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Senate plans to vote on the $700 billion bank
rescue plan Wednesday evening - two days after the House failed to pass it.

The bill adds new provisions - including raising the FDIC insurance cap to
$250,000 from $100,000 - and will be attached to an existing revenue bill
that the House also rejected Monday, according to several Democratic
leadership aides.

The vote is scheduled for after sundown, in observance of Rosh Hashanah.
Republican presidential nominee John McCain, R-Ariz., and Democratic nominee
Barack Obama, D-Ill., and his running mate Joe Biden, D-Del., confirmed that
they would be present for the vote.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell, R-Ky., announced the plan Tuesday.

"Senate Democrats and Republicans believe it is essential that we work
quickly on this important legislation to restore confidence to our financial
system and strengthen the economy," Reid said in a statement.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the administration welcomes the
"modified bill" and the scheduled vote.

Democratic sources told CNN that they expect bipartisan support.

Earlier Tuesday, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair asked
Congress to allow her agency to increase the $100,000 limit per account that
has been in place since 1980. To do so would help restore confidence in the
markets, she said. Bair did not say what she thinks the new limit should be.

The revised bailout bill also includes a "Mental Health Parity" provision,
which would require health insurance companies to cover mental illness at
parity with physical illness.

Because the bill must originate in the House, the Senate is attaching the
rescue plan to a bill that deals with renewable energy tax incentives. This
would allow the Senate to vote before the House.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said that House leaders are discussing
ideas offered by other lawmakers about how to modify the bill defeated on
Monday. "House Democrats remain strongly committed to a comprehensive bill
that stabilizes the financial markets, restores confidence, and protects
taxpayers," she said.

Round 1 failed
The bailout package, a collaboration of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and
leaders from both parties, was rejected by the House in a 228-205 vote
Monday. Two-thirds of Republicans and about one-third of Democrats voted
against the bill.

Following the defeat, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 777 points,
its biggest one-day point decline ever. The decline of nearly 7% was the
largest percentage decline since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

But stocks rallied Tuesday, with the Dow jumping 485 points on bets that
Congress will pass a version of the government's $700 billion package.

The bill, if approved, would allow the federal government to buy troubled
mortgage-related investments from financial institutions, freeing them up for
lending in a bid to pull the economy out of its credit freeze.

Proponents of the bill believe it would prevent the United States from
sliding into a serious financial crisis, but opponents saw it as an
unbearable burden to taxpayers and a rescue for Wall Street.

The Bush administration and key lawmakers had regrouped on Tuesday and vowed
to push ahead. "Unfortunately, the measure was defeated by a narrow margin,"
President Bush said in a brief televised address at the White House. "I'm
disappointed by the outcome, but I assure our citizens, and citizens around
the world, that this is not the end of the legislative process."

The House is adjourned and not scheduled to return to session until Thursday
at noon.

Bush pushed hard for lawmakers to act. "Our economy is depending on decisive
action from the government," he said. "The sooner we address the problem, the
sooner we can get back on the path of growth and job creation. This is what
elected leaders owe the American people, and I am confident that we'll
deliver."

On Tuesday, Bush spoke to Obama and McCain about the financial crisis,
according to Fratto. The presidential candidates "offered ideas and
reaffirmed what they have said publicly - that this is a critical issue that
needs to be addressed," Fratto said.

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