Bailout Deal (Almost) Done
Early Sunday morning brought word that the end of the drawn-out bailout negotiations between warring factions of the federal government might finally be at hand, although the House and Senate had not yet officially approved terms of the proposed plan. Updated
Early Sunday morning brought word that the end of the drawn-out bailout negotiations between warring factions of the federal government might finally be at hand, although the House and Senate had not yet officially approved terms of the proposed plan.
Update: The Huffington Post has posted a full text of the bailout plan here.
Wait, before you go…AP via Google News:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the $700 billion accord just after midnight but said it still has to be put on paper.
“We’ve still got more to do to finalize it, but I think we’re there,” said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who also participated in the negotiations in the Capitol.
“We worked out everything,” said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., the chief Senate Republican in the talks.
Congressional leaders hope to have the House vote on the measure Monday. A Senate vote would come later.
The plan calls for the Treasury Department to buy deeply distressed mortgage-backed securities and other bad debts held by banks and other investors. The money should help troubled lenders make new loans and keep credit lines open. The government would later try to sell the discounted loan packages at the best possible price.
At the insistence of House Republicans, some of the program’s $700 billion would be devoted to a program that would encourage holders of distressed mortgage-backed securities to keep them and buy government insurance to cover defaults.
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