The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Plan this afternoon by a tally of 263 to 171. The U.S. Senate passed the bill last night.
“This bill contains a broad set of tools that can be deployed to strengthen financial institutions, large and small, that serve businesses and families,” said Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson. “The challenges our institutions face are just as varied – from holding illiquid mortgage backed securities, to illiquid whole loans, to raising needed capital, to simply facing a crisis of confidence. This diversity of institutions and challenges requires that we deploy the tools in this rescue package, in combination with the tools the Fed, the Treasury, the FDIC and other bank regulators already have, in a variety of ways that addresses each of these needs and restores the ability of our financial system to fuel our broader economy.
The market was up in early trading despite a higher than expected drop in non-farm payrolls. The Dow dropped approximately 300 points from its midday high after word of the bill's passage in what looked to be "buy the rumor sell the fact" activity.
To download the bailout plan, click here: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/financialsvcs_dem/essabill.pdf
