Action by Congress is urgently required to stabilize the situation and avert what otherwise could be very serious consequences for our financial markets and for our economy - Ben Bernanke, Chairman, Federal Reserve
BBC: The chairman of the US Federal Reserve has urged politicians to "act quickly" to support the proposed $700bn (£378bn) bail-out of the financial markets.
The US economy risked "very serious consequences" if measures were not taken, Ben Bernanke added.
Mr Bernanke said Congress must "address the grave threats to financial stability" which were being faced.
On Tuesday politicians expressed strong scepticism about the bail-out following a five-hour Senate hearing on the plan.
’Work together’
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson had told already the banking panel that delaying the bail-out would put the entire US economy at risk.
The White House has called on Republicans and Democrats to work together to approve the plan, under which a federal fund could buy bad debt from financial institutions with "significant operations in the US".
The fund would aim to sell off these mortgage-related debts in the future when, the Treasury says, their value might have risen.
But congressmen from both sides said they wanted assurances that the plan would benefit ordinary American home-owners as well as Wall Street.
Some have gone further, calling the plan a potential waste of public money. Bernanke Demands Bail-out Action >>> | September 24, 2008
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