Bush pleads for EUR700bn 'rescue' Appeal to Congress to prevent recession

Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Huddersfield, England), Sept 25, 2008

Byline: By EXAMINER News Correspondent

AMERICA will face "financial panic" and a "long and painful recession" unless the US Congress fails to pass a rescue package immediately, President George Bush said today.

Mr Bush said the United States needed to put its economy back on track as Congress was considering a EUR700bn rescue plan to tackle the "extraordinary" financial crisis gripping the nation.

In his televised prime-time address to the nation, the president also confirmed he had invited both presidential candidates and the leaders of the House and Senate to the White House in a bid to secure the bill to rescue the foundering US economy.

The rescue package, which has caused serious concerns due to the amount of taxpayers' money involved and the unprecedented private sector intervention, was aimed at preserving America's overall economy, not saving individual companies, Mr Bush said.

America would face a long and painful recession if Congress failed to act and major sectors of America's financial system were at risk of shutting down.

"Our entire economy is in danger," he added.

These were not normal circumstances and without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic, Mr Bush said.

He added that the US needed to send a signal around the world that America's financial system was back on track.

"Our economy is facing a moment of great challenge, but we've overcome tough challenges before and we will overcome this one," Mr Bush said.

"I know that Americans sometimes get discouraged by the tone in Washington, and their seemingly endless partisan struggles, yet history has shown that in times of real struggle, elected officials rise to the occasion."

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PLEA: President Bush appeals to Congress for EUR700bn