Politics

House Fails to Pass Bailout Plan

By Mark Stein

BREAKING: The House shocked Wall Street and voted down the bipartisan financial bailout plan, J. Jennings Moss writes.

Lawmakers kept the vote open way beyond the 15-minute voting time so that backers of the plan could hit up opponents and see if they could turn the tide, but it didn't happen.

A majority of Republicans did as expected and voted against the plan, even though it got the grudging support of Minority Leader John Boehner. But a sizeable number of Democrats, about a third of the caucus, also voted against the plan.

Don't think this will be the last we hear of a bailout plan. With the loss, look for lawmakers to try again to come up with a plant that's acceptable to a majority. Going home without a plan isn't an option, either for the markets or for lawmakers' reelection prospects.

Full post as published by Portfolio.com: Capital on September 29, 2008 (boomark / email).