Senate will consider its own bailout plan tonight after return from holiday

LYNN – Even as the Senate announced Tuesday evening that it will take up its own new and hopefully improved version of the national economic bailout plan tonight, deciphering the impact of Monday’s vote by the House of Representatives on the $700-billion plan has proved a challenge for journalists, historians, political pundits and financial experts.Opinions vary widely, as does the casting of blame for the 228-205 vote. Meanwhile, the public is clamoring for another rescue strategy, but the nation’s lawmakers have gone home, prompting the NBC Nightly News to report, “Congress has recessed for the Jewish holiday. There is no plan.”On the ABC World News, George Stephanopoulos offered his analysis Monday evening. “You had this economic crisis, the market is bearing down, you had the President of the United States, the Speaker of the House from another party, united Congressional leadership across the board, and both presidential candidates giving cover, and the bill still went down,” he said. “We have never seen anything like this.”The vote put the stock market into a tailspin, so that by closing Monday, the Dow had fallen nearly 778 points, or nearly 7 percent, to 10,365. Market losses ran rampant. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined 106.62, or nearly 9 percent, to 1,106.39, marking its largest-ever point drop and its biggest percentage loss since the week after the October 1987 crash. The Nasdaq fell 199.61, or more than 9 percent, to 1,983.73, its third-worst percentage decline. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 47.07, or 6.7 percent.The Dow recovered somewhat Tuesday, a not-unexpected development as Wall Street carnage often attracts bargain hunters, rising 485 points, or more than 4.5 percent – the third-biggest point gain in the Dow’s history and the biggest percentage climb in the Dow in six years. Broader stock indicators followed suit, bouncing higher.However, the pervading sense of gloom Tuesday sent investors scurrying to buy relatively safe U.S. Treasury bonds, while most citizens fretted about losses to their 401K retirement portfolios and awaited word from the White House or Capitol Hill, wondering, what’s next?Senate leaders have slated a vote on its own measure tonight, but added a tax cut plan already rejected by the House after it was proposed by Republican leaders Sunday night. The plan would raise federal deposit insurance limits to $250,000 from $100,000. The two presidential nominees has recommended this addition only hours earlier.The move to add a tax legislation – including a set of popular business tax breaks – risked a backlash from House Democrats insisting they be paid for with tax increases elsewhere, but by also adding legislation to prevent more than 20 million middle-class taxpayers from feeling the bite of the alternative minimum tax, the step could build momentum from House Republicans.The debate is expected to continue while the market seeks new levels and partisan politics takes aim at whatever targets appear, from President George W. Bush for failing to explain how this devastating situation was able to occur on his watch, to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not securing the support of the 95 Democrats who voted against the Wall Street bailout bill.The Associated Press on Tuesday quoted President Bush as having vowed to “keep pressing on” in search of a way to help the U.S. economy. “We’ll be working with members of Congress, leaders of Congress, on the way forward,” said the President, offering no specifics of any subsequent economic rescue plan.U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney, a Salem Democrat, said he didn’t support the bailout because it was rife with compromises.Pelosi, a California Democrat, could present a revised version of the bailout bill in a matter of days, designed to garner Congressional support from more Democrats. During a television interview, Pelosi said, Republicans “claim to be free market advocates when it’s really an anything-goes mentality. No regulation, n