House Approves Bailout Bill

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The House approved an unprecedented $700 billion legislation to rescue the nation's financial markets on Friday, just days after it failed to do so and caused a $1.2 trillion in losses in the stock market.

By a 263-171 vote, the chamber passed the measure after a morning debate that saw House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) taking a more cautious approach. She was strongly criticized for making a "partisan speech" before Monday's vote, which defeated the measure, 228-205, and caused the Dow to drop nearly 800 points.

Friday's vote had 172 Democrats supporting the legislation, or 32 more from the previous vote. Republicans were able to gather much more than the 80 votes needed, bringing 91 members to cast yeas.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued a statement after the vote calling the bill "flawed but necessary."

"The financial crisis is not a failure of the free-market system. It is a failure of a broken Washington, and a government culture that allowed executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other firms to run amok," he added. "House Republicans... secured numerous reforms on behalf of American taxpayers, such as raising the FDIC insurance cap, the SEC's change to mark-to-market rules for certain assets that have worsened the credit crisis, and an insurance program that forces Wall Street to bear a financial burden in the rescue package."

The approval comes after the Senate's 74-25 vote passing the measure on Wednesday. House Democratic and Republican leaders spent Thursday shoring up support for the measure, which has undergone significant additions, including a provision extending tax breaks that some feared may change the minds of some Democrats who voted for the bill earlier this week.

The measure has provisions raising Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) guarantees on deposits from $100,000 to $250,000, a one-year patch of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and incentives to renewable energy. It also extends for two years tax breaks to companies worth $150 billion, a provision added to gain Republican support.