GOP leaders wrangle bailout vote

WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders struggled Thursday to persuade some of their members to reverse course and support the $700 billion economic bailout package, but leaders in both parties said they were guardedly optimistic about winning final passage of the measure in a vote expected today.

As the White House and congressional leaders maneuvered to drum up support, several lawmakers in each party said they were prepared to switch their votes. But others agonized amid a continuing deluge of calls from angry constituents, and top Democrats said they would not bring the bill to the floor unless they were certain of victory.

The Senate approved the bailout plan Wednesday night, 74-25, with a solid bipartisan majority after adding a thick portfolio of popular tax provisions. The Senate action came after House members defied the leadership of both parties and rejected the plan Monday. It fell 12 votes short, and Republicans opposed it by 2-to-1.

Democrat leaders insisted Thursday that it remained up to the Republicans to find more votes. The Senate included more than $150 billion in tax breaks, including incentives for solar, wind and other renewable energy sources, but it included offsets to pay for only $43 billion, infuriating fiscally conservative Democrats in the House.

"We may lose people," the majority leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said. "And I have informed the Republican leadership that that may be the case. Because frankly, the things that were added on and the way they were added on essentially appeal to Republicans."

But apparently it was not appealing enough because only a few Republicans said publicly that they were prepared to switch their votes to yes. One, Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said the economy was just in too precarious a state.

"The time has come to act." Wamp said on Fox Television. "If we do not go on the wall, it will be an ugly day in America."

But Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., who voted against the bill Monday, said he was unlikely to switch. "I don't see myself changing because there has not been any change in the basic bill," he said.

There was movement among some Democrats. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., said he would switch to yes from no. And Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., also planned to switch, Democratic aides said.

President Bush, at a meeting with business leaders, urged Americans to call their representatives in Congress and demand that they vote for the bailout plan, which would authorize the Treasury to buy up to $700 billion in troubled debt from financial firms in an effort to keep credit flowing to businesses and consumers.

"The bill that's before the House of Representatives tomorrow is a bill that has got the best chance of providing liquidity, providing credit, providing money so small businesses and medium-sized businesses can function," Bush said.