Financial bailout bill set for House debate Monday

WASHINGTON -- A $700 billion financial bailout bill, drawn up after marathon weekend negotiations on Capitol Hill, will be voted on Monday by the House and possibly the Senate, key Congressional negotiators said Sunday.

"We've got to get this done," said Sen. Judd Gregg, of New Hampshire, the chief Senate Republican in the talks. "Getting this done promptly is absolutely critical to the confidence of the markets."

He also said he was confident that it would pass both houses of Congress.

"If we don't pass it we shouldn't be a Congress," he said. "The option of not passing it is not acceptable relative to our responsibility to the American people."

"Definitely," Rep. Barney Frank, Democratic chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said when asked by Reuters whether the financial industry rescue package will hit the House floor on Monday.

A tentative agreement on the plan was announced shortly after midnight by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and House Republican Whip Ray Blunt, R-Mo.

The lawmakers, eager to get a deal in place before financial markets open Monday, had emphasized in announcing their agreement that it still had to be translated into legislative language and presented to lawmakers for sign-off.

"We've been working very hard on this and we've made great progress toward a deal which will work and will be effective in the marketplace and effective for all Americans," Paulson said. "We've still got a lot to do to finalize it, but I think we're there."

The two presidential candidates, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama, indicated they would likely support the final draft.

The plan would allow the Treasury Department to buy troubled mortgage-backed securities and other devalued loans held by financial institutions. The government could later resell the assets, presumably after they'd recovered much of their value.

Obama said Sunday that bailing out financial companies is necessary to keep the economy from crumbling further and taking more American workers down with it.