Bailout Negotiations Inch Forward

It seems that some key officials involved in the negotiations with the Bush administration over the terms of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s $700-billion bailout proposal for Wall Street aren’t about to make a deal unless it includes specific plans for congressional oversight and help for homeowners on the brink of foreclosure. Luckily, it also looks like Team Bush might be willing to give an inch or two, on those points at least.

AP via Google News:

Judges could rewrite mortgages to lower bankrupt homeowners’ monthly payments as part of congressional Democrats’ proposal for a $700 billion financial system bailout.

Also, companies that unloaded their bad assets on the government in the massive rescue would have to limit their executives’ pay packages and agree to revoke any bonuses awarded based on bogus claims, according to a draft of the plan obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

The proposal by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman, gives the government broad power to buy up virtually any kind of bad asset — including credit card debt or car loans — from any financial institution in the U.S. or abroad in order to stabilize markets.

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AP photo / Charles Dharapak

Negotiation station: House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, right, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Monday.