In your face

The Senate passed the bail-out, and now it's back to the House:

The legislation, approved last night on a 74-25 vote, authorizes the government to buy troubled assets from financial institutions rocked by record home foreclosures. It contains two provisions favored by House Republicans: One raises the limit on federal bank-deposit insurance; the other reiterates the authority of securities regulators to suspend asset-valuing rules that corporate executives blame for fueling the crisis.
The bill's proponents cited the record 778-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the House's 228-205 defeat of the legislation Sept. 29 as evidence of the urgency to stabilize the banking system. They suggested that the market reaction may spur some House Republicans to change their minds when the bill comes to a vote, likely tomorrow afternoon. "The big drop in the Dow Index really had a chilling effect on a lot of our members and a lot of their constituents,'' House Republican Leader John Boehner said on Fox News. With changes made by the Senate, the legislation "has a much better chance'' of passage this time, he said.
Democratic supporters of the bill are targeting lawmakers such as Illinois Representative Bobby Rush, who twice changed his vote in the House roll call. Rush ended up being among the 21 members of the Congressional Black Caucus to oppose the legislation. The caucus scheduled a meeting today to discuss the changes made by the Senate. Rush wasn't available to comment on his vote.
The bill was a bipartisan effort, with 40 Democrats, 33 Republicans and independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut voting for it. The two presidential nominees, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, returned from the campaign trail to vote for the plan. The Senate also sweetened the measure for Republicans by authorizing the government's purchase of troubled assets with a $149 billion package of tax breaks. They would spare 24 million households from a $62 billion alternative minimum tax and extend $17 billion in benefits to companies that produce alternative energy. There was a possibility that some additional Democrats may oppose the legislation because of the tax breaks, which aren't offset with spending cuts.
Still, House passage is far from certain.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told MSNBC News yesterday that no Democrats who opposed the measure earlier this week have pledged to back it. "We don't have any more Democrats at this hour,'' he said.
Some Republicans said they also weren't budging. "The bill that they are going to send back is the same bill that I voted against two days ago,'' Representative Joe Barton of Texas told Bloomberg Television. "Why would I turn around and vote for it tomorrow evening or Friday?''

Rico says you should vote for it on Friday so your constituents don't lynch you over the weekend, that's why...