HOLY SHIT!!! i'm sure this has been posted today, but i just now got around to seeing the news...HOLY SHIT
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration on Saturday formally proposed to Congress what could become the largest financial bailout in United States history, requesting virtually unfettered authority for the Treasury to buy up to $700 billion in mortgage-related assets from financial institutions based in the United States.
The proposal was stunning for its stark simplicity: less than three pages, it would raise the national debt ceiling to $11.3 trillion. And it would place no restrictions on the administration other than requiring semiannual reports to Congress, allowing the Treasury to buy and resell mortgage debt as it sees fit.
Staff members from the Treasury Department and the House Financial Services and Senate banking committees immediately began meeting on Capitol Hill, where negotiations were likely to be complicated but quick. Democratic Congressional leaders have pledged to help approve legislation by the end of this week.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/business/21cong.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print