U.S. President George W. Bush said on Monday the $700 billion financial bailout package addresses the root cause of the financial crisis and will help it from spreading throughout the economy.
In a brief statement after lawmakers agreed on a plan for the bailout package, Bush praised the deal, calling it a "bold bill that will help keep the crisis in our financial system from spreading throughout our economy."
"I'm confident that this rescue plan, along with other measures taken by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, will begin to restore strength and stability to America's financial system and overall economy," he said.
Seeking to reassure Americans and calm jittery financial markets, Bush urged lawmakers to expedite passage of the legislation.
"Congress can send a strong signal to markets here and abroad by passing this promptly," he said as he stood on the White House driveway.
He spoke as a swathe of bank rescue deals took shape around Europe on Monday and fear gripped financial markets before U.S. lawmakers take up the package aimed at dealing with masses of toxic debt.
Investors hung on every twist and turn in Washington as central banks in Asia and Europe pumped cash into the system to try to persuade fearful financiers to lend to each other.
In the United States, House Republicans were the main obstacle to passage of the bailout bill as they balked at spending so much public money just before elections in November.
But senior Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire threw his weight behind the deal, saying he expected the House to vote on the bill on Monday.
Congressional leaders from both parties said they had a tentative agreement on Sunday on a plan that would use taxpayer funds to buy up bad mortgage debt, would restore confidence.
"Yesterday leaders here in Washington reached an extraordinary agreement to deal with an extraordinary problem in our economy," Bush said.
"Negotiations are sometimes difficult but their hard work and cooperation paid off. The bipartisan economic rescue plan addresses the root cause of the financial crisis," he said.
