WASHINGTON -- The Senate has passed a multibillion dollar bailout for the financial industry aimed at preventing the economy from plunging into a recession.
By a 74-25 margin, Democrats and Republicans teamed up to approve the bill, but not before making some changes.
The proposal will let the government buy up bad mortgages from financial institutions in hopes of freeing up credit.
However, the Senate has added a number of other items, including business tax breaks and an increase in FDIC insurance for accounts from $100,000 to $250,000.
The U.S. House of Representatives, which voted down the $700 billion plan earlier this week, is expected to vote on the revised plan Friday.
Senators Split Vote On Plan
As for Florida's two U.S. senators, Democrat Bill Nelson voted against the plan, while Republican Mel Martinez voted in favor of it.
Both senators spoke on the Senate floor prior to the vote, and while both said something needs to be done, Nelson said the current bill is not the answer.
"This creates a moral hazard the U.S. government will overtake," said Nelson. “This bill sends a message to Wall Street that if you pay fast and loose in the form of short term profits, the government will actually make up for their losses."
“It isn't easy,” said Martinez. “A lot of people have great angst about it, and I understand that angst and I share their anger. But at the same time, we're here to solve problems and get things done working bipartisanly coming together. This is a great country. We’re going to come through this crisis and we're going to be stronger for it.”
Candidates Speak Out On Bailout Plan
Both presidential candidates spoke out Wednesday on the bailout plan.
In Wisconsin, Barack Obama said if he is elected president, this kind of financial crisis won't happen again. He said Americans won't ever again have to "put their money on the line to pay for the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street."
From Independence, Mo., John McCain said the financial rescue plan that is headed for a Senate vote isn't perfect, but he said it is better than the one that failed in the House on Monday. He also warned that if the plan fails, the financial crisis will become a full-fledged disaster.
McCain and Obama came out in favor of the new bill.
Bush: Economic Damage Will Be 'Lasting' If Bailout Not Passed
Former President Bill Clinton spoke in support of Barack Obama at the University of Central Florida Wednesday and could not resist giving his take on the financial crisis.
"Let me just say, I know all across America, anything the Congress does this week is going to be unpopular, but here's why you ought to be for action. It has nothing to do with bailing out Wall Street. The Wall Street that we knew is gone. It vanished in two months," Clinton said.
"There's not a single, freestanding investment bank left on Wall Street. The last two -- Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have become bank holding companies, which means they are going to be regulated and they will never again be able to make some of the high-risk investments that got us in this trouble. That is not the issue. Here's the problem. When people lose confidence in the financial system, they lose confidence in all of it. People have lost confidence in their local banks. Bank accounts are only insured upt to $100,000. That's more than most people have, but not more than small businesses, and not-so-small businesses and wealthy people have," Clinton said.
Clinton went on to put the consequences of not taking action into perspective.
"Everybody I know in the county where Hillary and I live that has got more than $100,000 in the bank is trying to figure out how to take it out of the bank and put it somewhere else. The less money in the bank, the less money they have to loan. That means small businesses can't get loans. The biggest car dealership in America last week stopped financing new cars. It means, sooner or later, you won't be able to buy a refrigerator on an installment plan. This is all about America. This is not about them. "
How Central Florida Representatives Voted Monday
Yea:
- Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville
- Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow
- Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Melbourne
Nay:
- Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville
- Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo
- Rep. Ric Keller, R-Orlando
- Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park
- Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala
Contact Your U.S. Representative
What To Buy With $700 Billion
If the $700 billion price tag attached to the bailout plan that failed sounds like a lot, it is.
With that amount, one could buy a war. The U.S. has spent close to that amount on the war in Iraq so far.
That much money could ensure universal health care coverage for six years, or upgrade the country's most deficient bridges four times over.
A $700 billion check could also pay back every single outstanding student loan, or fund the National Intelligence Budget beyond 2020.
More on the Bailout Plan
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