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民主党领导人希望赶在周四下午白宫的一个高层特别会议之前，在周四上午敲定计划细节。参加这次特别会议的除了布什总统和国会高级领导人之外，还将召集两党总统候选人到场。
计划中的许多地方还不确定，可能提出的法案的大纲也可能会发生变化。但周三晚间，在国会领导人开始考虑限制着以救助计划，将巨额资金分批投入之后，一个可能有所妥协的计划框架开始浮现出来。
一个可能的草案是，对于获得政府大量资金支持的问题机构，其高管人员的薪酬将受到限制。某些情况下，政府可以获得保证、享有收购该公司股份的权利。提案内容可能还包括通过国会下属的调查机构政府问责局(Government Accountability Office)来加强监管。布什总统在12分钟的讲话中对久拖不决的风险发出严厉警告。他说，如果国会不立刻采取行动，美国有可能陷入金融恐慌，出现令人痛苦的局面。布什对各方近日来要求的几项变化表示赞同。他说，救助法案“应尽快颁布”。
救助计划最初提出的基本框架目前没有变动：民主党领导人仍提出授权财政部拿出7,000亿美元买入问题金融机构的积压资产。其目标是剔出不良资产（其中大部分是处于此次危机核心的抵押贷款资产），以求安抚金融市场。如果计划最终得以通过，它将是美国历史上最大规模的政府救助行动之一。
现在还不清楚布什政府是否会同意民主党的整套计划内容。该计划回旋的空间有限，它要求国会本周迅速采取行动以防范金融灾难的发生。
民主党讨论的具体计划中包括设立一些基准指标，定期衡量救助的成效。在更多政府资金被动用（实际可能是将救助资金分为几个阶段）之前，必须满足这些指标。据知情人士说，政府不希望国会分多次分配这些资金，特别是如果它要求不断获得国会批准的话。
有关设立一个独立的监察委员会来审批拨款的想法没有遇到多少阻力，问题只是由谁牵头这个委员会。但政府内部的希望是，能够通过加强监管打消这个念头。
国会人士预计，周四早间不会达成最终协议。但他们希望能对有关一系列问题的剩余细节（包括管理人士薪酬限制、住房、股权）以及分阶段支取那7,000亿美元的计划进行进一步考虑。如果与会各方都能满意的话，这将为周四晚些时候在白宫达成最后妥协创造条件。
但依然不清楚普通国会议员、尤其是保守派议员的反应，他们中的许多人一直强烈反对该计划。继周二在参议院作证后，财政部长鲍尔森(Henry Paulson)和美国联邦储备委员会(Fed)主席贝南克(Ben Bernanke)再次在持怀疑态度的国会两党议员面前作证。
让议员进一步感到达成交易压力的是：投资大师沃伦•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)说，如果他认为救助计划得不到批准，他当初就不会考虑投资高盛集团(Goldman Sachs Groups Inc.)。巴菲特是在周二晚间宣布这项投资的。他说，在这样一个异常重要的时刻，我的确认为国会会做正确的事情，而且会迅速采取行动。他们可能讨价还价，但他们也会把国家利益放在心上。
共和党关心的是救助计划的总成本，以及给予财政部干预市场的大权。
与此同时，民主党正施加压力，要求采取行动帮助陷入困境的房主和家庭，而非仅仅救助华尔街银行家。
这项法案的实际前景不太可能受到阻碍，原因之一是议员们正在盘算11月大选带来的复杂的政治格局。不过，两党领导人均曾表示，他们致力于以某种形式通过该法案。
民主党和共和党领导人准备必要时一直工作到周末甚至下周。
白宫及其共和党盟友同参众两院的民主党领导人达成了脆弱的和平，后者一直表示要推进该方案。周三晚间，众议院议长、民主党人佩洛西(Nancy Pelosi)和少数党领袖、共和党人约翰•博纳(John Boehner)发表联合声明，称将在两党的基础上进行合作。两人强调，将致力于加强对救助计划的监督和保护纳税人的利益。
但除了他们要求的新的变化之外，民主党也在敦促白宫说服一些共和党人赞成这项方案。佩洛西说，我们不想把这个大包大揽过来。
鲍尔森公开反对将7,000亿美元的计划分为几部分的主意，称市场需要一大笔钱来唤起该计划将成功的信心。不过，周三政府内部越来越多的人开始在私下里承认，这笔钱可能要分阶段投入。
一位政府高官称，令人深感担忧的一个问题是：不断伸手向国会要钱会给市场带来变数，反而可能破坏该计划。另一位政府高级官员认为，政府有意支持这个想法，只要是以不会使该方案丧失效用。
在周三的听证会上，议员们还在继续发泄他们对贝南克和鲍尔森的不满。贝南克一改往常谨慎克制的语气，严厉警告说，美国面临着对金融稳定的“严重威胁”。他详细说明了，如果面临进一步的金融动荡，已处于巨大压力之下的经济的几乎各个领域将会如何恶化。
英文原文: WASHINGTON--A dramatic flurry of activity late Wednesday, including a prime-time address by President George W. Bush, appeared to galvanize efforts to finalize the administration's $700 billion financial-markets bailout, despite continuing tensions and an occasionally heated debate on Capitol Hill.
Democratic leaders hope to nail down details of the measure early Thursday, ahead of an extraordinary summit meeting in the afternoon at the White House, which will bring together Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, along with Mr. Bush and top leaders from Congress.
Much is still uncertain and the contours of a likely bill could change. But the outlines of a potential compromise began to emerge late Wednesday after congressional leaders started considering restrictions on the bailout plan that could break the pool of money into installments.
A likely bill would include limits on executive pay in situations where the government puts a large amount of money into a failing institution. In certain cases, the government could receive warrants that would give it the right to acquire shares in the company. Also included is beefed-up oversight through the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress.
'Without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic and a distressing scenario would unfold,' Mr. Bush said in a 12-minute address in which he warned in stark language about the danger of delay. Mr. Bush endorsed several of the changes that have been demanded in recent days from the right and left. He said the bill 'should be enacted as soon as possible.'
The basic building blocks of the bailout plan as initially proposed remain intact: Democratic leaders are still proposing to authorize Treasury to borrow up to $700 billion to buy hard-to-sell assets from troubled financial institutions. The goal is to calm financial markets by removing the toxic assets, mostly mortgages, which lie at the heart of the crisis. If a final deal is struck, it would represent one of the biggest government bailouts in U.S. history.
Whether the Bush administration will agree to the entire Democratic wish list of provisions isn't clear. Its room to maneuver will be limited, having urged Congress this week to act quickly to forestall financial calamity.
One scenario being discussed by Democrats would be to establish benchmarks to periodically measure the bailout's performance. Those benchmarks would have to be met before further allotments of government money could be used -- in effect, potentially breaking the bailout funds into several installments. The administration doesn't want Congress to split up dispersing the funds, particularly if that would require returning for continual congressional approval, according to people familiar with the matter.
There is less resistance to the idea of having an independent oversight board approve the installments, depending on who sits on the board. But the hope within the administration is that beefed-up oversight will negate the idea, these people said.
Congressional officials don't expect to forge a final deal Thursday morning. But they do expect to sort through remaining details on a handful of issues, including executive-pay limits, housing, equity stakes and the plan to have staged drawdowns on the $700 billion. That would set the stage for a final compromise to be pieced together at the White House later in the day, if all of the parties invited to the meeting can be satisfied.
New Wrinkle
Unknown still is the reaction from rank-and-file lawmakers, particularly conservatives, many of whom have been strongly opposed to the plan. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified once again before skeptical members of Congress -- both Democrats and Republicans -- following a similar hearing Tuesday in the Senate.
Adding to the pressure on lawmakers to do a deal, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said he wouldn't have considered investing in Goldman Sachs Groups Inc., a move he announced Tuesday night, if he didn't think the bailout would be approved. 'I really do think Congress will do the right thing, when it's terribly important, and they will do it fast,' he said. 'They will haggle but they have the national interest at heart.'
Republicans are concerned about the overall cost of the plan, and the broad powers it would give the Treasury to intervene in the marketplace.
Democrats, meanwhile, are pressing for action to help homeowners and families in dire straits, not just Wall Street bankers.
It's impossible to handicap the bill's actual prospects, in part because lawmakers are grappling with the complicated political calculus created by the November elections. Still, party leaders have said they're committed to passing the bill in some form.
Democratic and Republican leaders prepared to work though the weekend and into next week if necessary.
The White House and its Republican allies have made an uneasy peace with Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, who have committed to carry the proposal forward. Late Wednesday, Speaker Pelosi and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio) issued a joint statement vowing to 'work cooperatively and on a bipartisan basis.' The two party leaders stressed their commitment to improve oversight of the bailout and protect taxpayer interests.
But in addition to the new changes they are seeking, Democrats are also urging the White House to deliver Republican votes for the package. 'We are not taking ownership of this,' Mrs. Pelosi said.
Mr. Paulson has publicly resisted the notion of dividing the $700 billion plan into several parts, saying markets need a big number to instill confidence that the plan will succeed. Privately, however, there was growing acknowledgment within the administration Wednesday that the money might be released in stages.
One big concern: Having to continually ask Congress for money would breed uncertainty in the markets and potentially undermine the program, a senior administration official said. Another top administration official suggested the administration is willing to support the idea, so 'long as it's done in a way that doesn't render the program ineffective.'
Lawmakers continued to unload their frustration on Messrs. Bernanke and Paulson during hearings Wednesday. Mr. Bernanke, stepping beyond his usually cautious and measured tone, upped the ante, warning the nation faced 'grave threats to financial stability.' He detailed how nearly every sector of the economy, already under intense stress, would worsen if faced with further financial-market uncertainty.
[此贴子已经被作者于2008-9-26 8:47:16编辑过]
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