MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Close vote expected for bail-out plan in US Lower House

Members of the United States House of Representatives are considering a revised 700 billion US dollars plan to rescue the US financial sector and should be taking a vote on Friday.

Party leaders are hoping the House, which stunned global markets by rejecting the initial plan, will follow the Senate and back a new version. US shares fell sharply as investors showed caution over the vote's outcome. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index closed down 348.2 points or 3.2% at 10,482.8, a slide which also dragged European shares lower. When the Representatives first rejected the plan on Monday by 228 votes to 205, they had concerns about both the content of the plan and the speed with which they were being asked to pass it. President George W Bush for the umpteenth time has publicly urged the House to back his revised bill, saying that credit is frozen and the package represents the best chance to correct the situation. "[This] is a bill that has got the best chance of providing liquidity, providing credit, providing money so small businesses and medium-sized businesses can function," he said after meeting business leaders "This thing, this issue, has gone way beyond New York and Wall Street. This is an issue that's affecting hard-working people. The House of Representatives must listen to these voices." The package is aimed at buying up the bad debts of failing institutions on Wall Street. It has been amended to include extra tax breaks for ordinary US citizens and more protection for saving accounts. Both the Republican and Democratic House leaders said they believed the bill would probably pass. Pressure will particularly be applied to the 133 House Republicans who went against party affiliation to reject President Bush's bill, correspondents say. Roy Blunt, the Republican Whip, noted that the revised legislation had become more appealing to constituents back home. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he saw a "good prospect" of the bill being approved on Friday. The bill successfully passed through the Senate on Wednesday after it was amended to raise the government's guarantee on savings from $100,000 to $250,000, include tax breaks to help small businesses, expand child tax credit and extend help to victims of recent hurricanes.