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Members of Congress resumed blaming one
another Tuesday for the House vote rejecting a $700 billion
financial system bailout, which sent stocks down by a record level
on Wall Street.
      

But Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who voted
against it, said she still believes Republicans and Democrats can
come together on a bill, perhaps by this weekend.
      

"We're committed to finding a resolution to this, and I think
by week's end we will have a solution to this problem," she said
on CBS's "The Early Show."
      

Democratic Rep. James Moran of Virginia retorted that he
believes House members should have supported the plan on Monday
instead of voting it down.
      

When asked about scores of Democrats who also voted no, Moran
replied that the Democratic caucus did not want to "own this
bill."
      

He said that he believed there was an understanding by both
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Minority Leader
John Boehner, R-Ohio., that the two party conferences could muster
at least 110 votes apiece - enough to put the bill over the top.
      

Blackburn said that lawmakers are still concerned about the
level of public obligation - or taxpayer commitment - to the
bailout and said "that is why we have worked diligently. ... This
is something we can't leave on the table and leave Washington. This
is something that affects every man and woman, every family in this
country."
      

Moran blamed Republicans for the bill's failure - it lost on a
228-205 vote - saying the Democrats "were willing to hold the vote
open" so that people could change their minds. "I don't know
where the (Republican) leadership was," he said.
      

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., who voted against the bailout, said he
thinks "it's important to get this vote right, not necessarily to
get it quick."
      

"We are principled in the fact that we believe we ought to
stick to American principles, we ought to protect the taxpayer, we
need to make sure that private money, private equity can get
involved and have Wall Street bail out Wall Street, not on the
backs of the taxpayers," Price said on NBC's "Today" show.
      

"And we need to make certain that there's an exit strategy,"
he said, "so that there's not a huge, massive bureaucracy that
grows up around this. I'm positive and hopeful that we'll be able
to get to this by the end of the week."
      

Two other lawmakers - Reps. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, and Marilyn
Musgrave, R-Colo., - called on the Bush administration to get the
Securities and Exchange Commission to change accounting rules to
loosen up the credit crunch.
      

"We have to look for something that will make the markets
function in the way that they should, not reward bad behavior,"
Kaptur said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
      

She also had a message for Wall Street: "Calm down. Don't
panic. Don't be led by fear."
      

Musgrave said the House would come together later this week to
find a bill that members could pass.
      

"We know that inaction is not the answer. We're coming back to
work on Thursday," she said. "We're trying to come up with the
very best solution for this country and the responsibility we feel
is to pass a good bill."
      

Both lawmakers said the SEC should change accounting rules to
ease the credit crunch, which Kaptur said "is really at the heart
of some of the anxiety of the market."
      

Specifically, they want the commission to change existing
"mark-to-market" rules that require companies to value their
holdings at what similar securities have recently sold for - in
some cases pennies on the dollar, when the assets get marked down.
That hurts the companies' balance sheets, which could cause some to
fail.

Gallery

An array of forces lined up against bailout

How Minnesota's delegation voted on the bailout

Stocks tumble as bailout plan fails in House

House vote keeps Bachmann from first debate

Business and Economic News

Members of Congress resumed blaming one
another Tuesday for the House vote rejecting a $700 billion financial system bailout. The news sent stocks down by 777 points, a record level on Wall Street. Pres. Bush will make a statement this morning about the bill's failure.

Fingerpointing continues on bailout failure

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