Bush Says Bailout Critical to Ease Crisis in Speech to Nation
In an evening address to the nation Wednesday night, President George W. Bush called on Americans to support a massive bail-out of financial markets to ease a "serious financial crisis". The entire economy was in danger, he said in a live TV speech, and failure to act now would cost more later.
He invited presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama to the White House on Thursday to discuss the $700bn rescue package. McCain says he is suspending his campaign to help with the crisis, but Obama says voters now need to hear from the candidates more than ever. The two men will attend a meeting with administration officials and congressional representatives on Thursday morning in the US capital in a bid to broker a mutually acceptable bail-out deal.
President Bush during his speech said that major sectors of America's financial system were at risk of shutting down, and without action a "distressing scenario" would unfold. He warned that major sections of the financial system were at risk.
The Bush administration is calling on Congress to approve a costly bail-out - under which the Treasury would use public money to buy bad debt from troubled financial institutions - as soon as possible. However, lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have voiced doubts about the plan and the speed at which they are being asked to approve it. They want assurances that it will benefit ordinary American home-owners as well as Wall Street, and be subject to adequate oversight.
Bush said he understood the frustration of "responsible Americans" who "are reluctant to pay the costs of excesses on Wall Street". "But given the situation we're facing, not passing a bill now will cost these Americans much more later," he said, calling for a bipartisan commission to oversee the plan.
Published on September 25, 2008
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