|
BIZCHINA> Global Markets
![]() |
|
$700B bailout plan breaks apart; talks to continue
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-26 09:18 WASHINGTON -- Urgent efforts to lash together a $700 billion rescue plan for the US economy broke apart Thursday night, hours after the country's key lawmakers had declared they had reached a deal.
Congressional leaders were to meet with the economic chiefs into the night. After six days of intensive talks on an outline and crucial details of the $700 billion package urgently requested by the Bush administration, with Wall Street tottering and the presidential election nearing, there was more confusion than clarity. On Tuesday, a tentative accord in principle among influential Democratic and Republican US lawmakers was announced at midday, giving the Bush administration just a fraction of the money it wanted up front, with half the $700 billion total subject to a congressional veto, congressional aides said. But conservatives were still in revolt, balking at the astonishing price tag of the proposal and the heavy hand of government that it would place on private markets. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, emerged from the White House meeting to say the announced agreement "is obviously no agreement." Both of Congress' Republican leaders, Rep. John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell, also denied there was any deal. And the White House called the earlier announcement progress but also said it was reviewing the outline with more work needed to finalize a bill for Congress to rush into law. There is wide agreement the US economy is in peril, with financial institutions going under or near the edge and recession looming along with the resulting layoffs and increased home foreclosures. There had been hopes for broad agreement, too, on a prescription by now, with a confident White House announcement by the US president, John McCain, Barack Obama and congressional leaders.
But the best McConnell would say afterward was, "It's clear that more progress is needed and we must continue to work together quickly to protect our economy." All the visitors left the White House without talking to a huge media group. The Bush administration has made near-daily concessions to demands from the right and the left, among them a limit on pay for executives of bailed-out financial institutions and an equity stake in rescued companies for the government. Despite the Republican outcry, Banking Chairman Chris Dodd, and Republican Sen. Bob Bennett, among others, said the negotiators from Congress and the administration had arrived at a deal that could win approval. Other key lawmakers said that after days of bare-knuckles negotiations there was little of note left to resolve. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
|
||||||
湟源县| 泸州市| 翁源县| 湖南省| 蒙阴县| 凌海市| 乌苏市| 乐至县| 西峡县| 荃湾区| 临沭县| 贵州省| 诸城市| 六盘水市| 朝阳市| 社旗县| 冕宁县| 本溪市| 通江县| 北宁市| 青海省| 腾冲县| 海盐县| 察雅县| 磐安县| 延津县| 宁晋县| 咸阳市| 大关县| 北海市| 霞浦县| 固阳县| 鸡泽县| 贵阳市| 青浦区| 内江市| 岚皋县| 克东县| 黄冈市| 大竹县| 积石山|