U.S. House agrees on bailout bill
The U.S. House passed President Bush's proposed government bailout of the country's major financial institutions on Friday after a week of debate.
The measure, approved by the House by a vote of 263-171, was shot down by the lower house on Monday by a slight majority. The bill, called the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, was overwhelmingly approved in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday after several amendments were added to the provision.
Of those voting in favor of the measure, 172 were Democrats and 91 were Republicans. Of the nays, 63 were Dems and 108 were GOP.
The Missouri congressional delegation voted 5-4 in approval of the measure. U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof of Columbia voted against the measure, as did fellow Republicans Todd Akin of St. Louis and Sam Graves of Tarkio, and Democrat William Lacy Clay of St. Louis.
Under the approved bill, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would still have $700 billion at his disposal to buy defaulted assets from mortgage companies, and regulatory entities would still be put into place to conduct oversight over the Treasury with regards to their use of those funds.
Before approval, the House added an amendment that would create equity for mental health and substance abuse treatment in group insurance plans. The Senate had also added amendments before the bill was sent to the House, including a provision that would provide tax breaks for renewable energy use.