Well, this would be welcome news.
Talks also focused on a new issue: how to cover the cost of the program so taxpayers don't get stuck with the bill.
As to the "Wall Street tax," which might be implemented five years into this deal if the $700 billion isn't recovered:
Paulson and some Republican lawmakers were said to be cool to the idea, though House Republicans also have expressed serious concerns about the cost of the program and have suggested other ideas for limiting taxpayer exposure.
But whether it was finally incorporated or not, it did not seem to cramp negotiations:
"While we do believe the Congress needs to act to avert this crisis, we also believe we should not be bailing out Wall Street on the backs of American taxpayers," House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said.
But even staunch opponents of the emerging tax plan said they expected it to pass.
Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), the senior Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, who has refused to participate in the talks, said a "critical mass" was forming behind the measure because of fears that Congress's failure to act would cripple financial markets and devastate the economy.
Secretary Paulson's statement, delivered alongside Pelosi, Frank, Blunt, and others;
Madame Speaker, Mr. Leader, let me add to what you have said, and we begin with a very important task, a task to stabilize the markets, to protect all Americans. and do it in a way in which it protects the taxpayers to the maximum length possible. And so we've been working very hard on this, and we've made great progress toward a deal which will work and will be effective in the marketplace, and, you know, effective for all Americans. So, again, I -- you know, I thank the speaker, I thank the leader, I thank, you know, all of the leaders in the Senate and the House, and we've been working on this for a long time. want we've still got more to do to finalize it. but i think we're there, and our staffs will be working all night, and, again, so far, so good.
They're reportedly in the pen-to-paper stage right now and will work through the night. They expect they may have a written deal tomorrow, and vote Sunday or Monday, although Roy Blunt sounds slightly less sanguine than others:
Well, as you all know, House Republicans were very concerned this week we do everything we could to bring free-market principles and protections for the taxpayers to the table, and other people in these negotiations wanted to do many of those same things. We need to look and see where we are on paper tomorrow, but through the day and the evening today with...others, we were talking about how we could make these things work in a way that our conference could together. We'll be looking at the final wording of this tomorrow, talking to my colleagues, and really I'm grateful -- we're where we are. I think we are going to be able to have an announcement tomorrow, but these are difficult issues, and everybody showed lots of patience. I've been involved in the last few years in a lot of these conferences that could be pretty tense and pretty complicated. and people really showed patience in this one that got us to where we are tonight. and I'm grateful for that. and look forward to what we're going to see on paper tomorrow, and presenting these ideas to my colleagues and getting the reaction from them that we'll have in the morning and during the day tomorrow.
Update: Wow, will the new taxpayer protections be enough to change this dismal 24-percent support number? If anyone can convince the public, it's the lowest-rated Congress in history, right? Although, if the bailout plan has minimal taxpayer protection and manages to help the market, most will likely be forgiven.
