U.S. Senate Approves $700 Billion Financial-Rescue (Nicholas Johnston and James Rowley)

Created by : Francis Goodwin View profile

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate tonight approved a $700 billion financial-rescue plan that funds the biggest government intervention in the markets since the Great Depression. The package now goes to the House of Representatives, which rejected an earlier version of the measure.

The bill, a bipartisan effort to restore confidence in the nation's banking system, passed 74-25 with 40 Democrats, 33 Republicans and independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut voting for it. The two presidential nominees, Democrat Barack Obama John McCain, returned from the campaign trail to cast votes for the plan. and Republican

Backed by the Bush administration, the measure authorizes the government to buy troubled assets from financial institutions reeling from a record number of home foreclosures.

``It's very important for us to pass this piece of legislation so as to stabilize the situation, so that it doesn't get worse and that our fellow citizens lose wealth and work,'' President George W. Bush said before the Senate vote.