| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush's administration has proposed a 700-billion-dollar bailout of the troubled financial sector over a two-year period, according to a draft proposal sent to Congress and released Saturday.
The unprecedented plan would give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson sweeping authority to buy up to 700 billion dollars of tainted mortgage-related assets to stem a grave financial crisis, said the draft law, posted on US media websites.
"The Secretary's authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to 700,000,000,000 dollars outstanding at any one time," the draft law states.
The plan also allows for an increase in the public debt limit, to 11.3 trillion dollars, and grants the treasury secretary powers to buy, sell and hold residential and commercial mortgages as well as securities based on those mortgages.
The extraordinary authority would expire in two years but would permit the government to hold the assets purchased for as long as the Treasury Department believes is necessary, it said.
The rescue calls for the purchase of assets only from US-based firms and grants the Treasury Department legal immunity from any lawsuits as part of the bailout proposal.
It remained unclear how the government would manage the assets it buys. But under the plan Paulson would have authority to turn to private financial institutions to carry out the operation or create other bodies to purchase mortgage assets and issue debt.
News of the proposed rescue plan fueled a powerful market rebound on Friday.
- AFP /ls
|
