WASHINGTON — Senate leaders reached consensus late Tuesday on a revised $700-billion financial rescue plan that they hoped would clear the chamber in a vote today and ward off another upheaval in global markets that could threaten economies here and abroad.
Presidential nominees Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), along with Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), were expected to fly to Washington for the vote, a move that could increase the pressure on lawmakers to back the measure.
Spurred by banking regulators, the Senate bill includes a big hike in the limit on federally insured deposits to $250,000 from the current $100,000 cap. The bill also includes popular tax-relief measures. An effort is underway to add some accounting relief for companies that have to revalue mortgage-related holdings.
"We're facing a choice between action and the real prospect of economic hardship for millions of Americans," President Bush said.
Leaders expect the Senate to vote this evening and the House, which dealt a crushing blow Monday to bailout hopes by defeating the bill, to take up the issue as early as Thursday.
"I don't think you're going to see a lot of change in the bill we put up," a member of the House Democratic leadership said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the negotiations.
"We'll make tweaks both for Republicans and Democrats, but we'll probably have on the floor a bill that doesn't look very different," the official said.
The new version also is likely to include stronger protections for homeowners facing foreclosure and possibly language sought by Republicans to discourage excessive government intervention in markets, the official said.
Hope for further congressional action pushed the markets higher Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average soared nearly 500 points, recouping much of the 777-point loss on Monday, the largest single-day drop, after the House vote.
Despite an eerie, morning-after quiet that enveloped Capitol Hill because of a Jewish holiday, leaders' offices were bombarded by critics on the left and right with demands for new approaches to relieve the financial crisis.
But strategists in both major parties opted for a much less drastic approach to avoid the protracted wrangling and new shocks to global markets that could come if they started over from scratch. They decided to try attracting the relative handful of votes needed for approval by offering modest concessions such as the temporary boost in deposit insurance and a possible easing of accounting rules.
