United States President George Bush on Monday said negotiators are making ”good headway” on legislation to provide an unprecedented $700-billion bailout of financial markets.
He also said he is confident a measure to prevent lasting damage to the economy can be enacted.
”Failure to act would have broad consequences far beyond Wall Street. It would threaten small-business owners and homeowners on Main Street,” Bush said in a statement.
Administration and congressional negotiators worked through the weekend to craft legislation that would provide the largest bank rescue plan and give sweeping powers to the US Treasury to buy mortgage-related debt from financial firms.
Bush warned against adding unrelated provisions on to the measure and said the world is watching to see whether the US can act quickly to shore up markets.
”Working together, I am confident we can enact the legislation necessary to prevent lasting damage to our economy and meet the unique challenge facing us today,” he said. — Reuters