Congress Faces Wrath of Wall Street, Support From Main Street
Lawmakers Head Home as Anger, Debate Continue Over How to Save Economy
Bush Warns of Economic Crisis, Urges Quick Action in Congress
President George W. Bush, however, told Americans that the bill needed to be passed quickly and issued a grave warning in a televised address before the stock market opened on Wall Street Tuesday morning.
"We are in an urgent situation and the consequences will grow worse each day we do not act," Bush said.
Congressional leaders in Washington spent the day looking for ways to switch over the 13 votes needed to pass the bill by introducing provisions that will attract Republicans without alienating Democrats.
Three options emerged as most viable: one, raising the limit on insured savings, two, revising "mark-to-market" accounting rules, and extending unemployment benefits.
Raising the limit on savings insured by the government from $100,000 to $250,000 per person per bank -- a move supported by both presidential contenders Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain -- would allow lawmakers to tell constituents they voted for the bill to protect their savings.
Critics say "mark-to-market" accounting rules hurt banks by forcing them to under-value their assets.
And, extending unemployment benefits may persuade some reluctant House Democrats to support the bill, despite opposition to the bailout in general.
Shoring Up Support From Main Street
Lawmakers acknowledged that Washington and Wall Street had not done enough to explain how this measure will help average Americans, and tried to remedy that.
"I do believe that no one has done an adequate job of explaining exactly what this impact will be on Main Street," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told ABC News.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he had heard constituents' concerns that the rescue package would eat in to their retirement savings.
"I'm hearing from people, like a retired school counselor in Anderson County, who said that she can't afford to see her small retirement savings vanish," McConnell, R-Ky., said.
Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, tried to impress upon constituents that their personal retirement savings may suffer if a bill is not passed fast.
"If we break the expectation once again, this time the market will drop and there will be no coming back up. This time your 401(k), your pension plan, your retirement account will be hurt in a way that will take years to recover," Bennett said in a speech on the Senate floor.
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