Bush to address nation on crisis; exec pay deal reached
WASHINGTON -- The White House bowed on a major sticking point in the $700 billion financial bailout plan Wednesday, and President Bush readied a prime-time speech to the nation as the administration scrambled to pull loudly resistant lawmakers onboard and stave off a deepening economic crisis.
Republican presidential nominee John McCain said he is returning to Washington and is asking Democratic rival Barack Obama to agree to delay their first debate, scheduled for Friday, to deal with the meltdown that has engulfed the political race as well as Congress less than six weeks before Election Day.
Obama's spokesman said the two campaigns are working on a joint statement. Obama said the debate should go ahead.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he has agreed to demands from critics in both parties to limit the pay packages of executives whose companies would benefit from the proposed bailout.
"The American people are angry about executive compensation and rightfully so," Paulson told the House Financial Services Committee. "We must find a way to address this in the legislation without undermining the effectiveness of the program."
The issue has been a much-debated point in the struggle to win congressional approval of the historic rescue of the financial industry, though the "golden parachute" money involved would be relatively insignificant compared with the huge sums being talked about.
At the same time, Democrats were asking the Bush administration to dramatically cut the size of the rescue and then come back to Congress later if they need more.
Under that plan, which was still emerging, Congress would approve a fraction of what Bush is asking for — perhaps $150 billion or $200 billion — to allow the government to begin rescuing tottering financial companies.
McCain said the Bush administration's plan seemed headed for defeat and a bipartisan solution was urgently needed.
"I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time," he said.
McCain said the Bush administration's plan seemed headed for defeat and a bipartisan solution was urgently needed.
"I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time," he said.
Obama said the two campaigns' staffs were working on a statement the candidates might make, spelling out major points they believe the rescue legislation must include.
Related Stories
ABC News Live