The supposedly "done deal" has apparently fallen apart after last minute bickering. Many stories reporting this.
The Republicans are being blamed.
Here is page one of MSN's take on the story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26884523/?GT1=43001Bailout talks break down
Negotiations to resume Friday morning after Republican revolt stalls efforts
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A Republican revolt stalled urgent efforts to lash together a national economic rescue plan Thursday, a chaotic turnaround on a day that had seemed headed for a success that President Bush, both political parties and their presidential candidates could celebrate at an extraordinary White House meeting.
Weary congressional negotiators worked into the night, joined by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in an effort to revive or rework the $700 billion proposal that President Bush said must be quickly approved by Congress to stave off potentially "a long and deep recession."
They gave up after 10 p.m. EDT, more than an hour after the lone House Republican involved, Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, left the room. Democrats blamed the House Republicans for the apparent stalemate. Those conservatives have complained that the plan would be too costly for taxpayers and would be an unacceptable federal intrusion into private business.
Talks were to resume Friday morning on the effort to bail out failing financial institutions and restart the flow of credit that has begun to starve the national economy.
White House meeting
The days earlier apparent breakthrough, announced with fanfare at midday, was followed by a White House summit bringing together President Bush, presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama, and top congressional leaders. But that meeting, aimed at showing unity in resolving a national financial crisis, broke up with conflicts in plain view.
Inside the session, House Republican leader John Boehner expressed misgivings about the emerging plan and McCain would not commit to supporting it, said people from both parties who were briefed on the exchange. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the session was private.
The earlier agreement by key members of Congress from both parties but not top leaders would have given the Bush administration just a fraction of the money it wanted up front, subjecting half the $700 billion total to a congressional veto.
But conservatives were still in revolt, balking at the astonishing price tag of the proposal and the hand of government that it would place on private markets.
Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, emerged from the White House meeting to say the announced agreement is obviously no agreement.
One group of House GOP lawmakers circulated an alternative that would put much less focus on a government takeover of failing institutions sour assets. This proposal would have the government provide insurance to companies that agree to hold frozen assets, rather than have the U.S. purchase the assets.
Rep Eric Cantor, R-Va., said the idea would be to remove the burden of the bailout from taxpayers and place it, over time, on Wall Street instead. The price tag of the administrations plan to bail out tottering financial institutions and the federal intrusion into private business matters have been major sticking points for many Republican lawmakers.
