US President George W. Bush quickly signed into law a far-reaching US$700 billion bill to bail out the tottering US financial industry, calling it “essential to helping America’s economy” weather the storm.
The president signed the bill about an hour and a half after the House completed congressional action on it with a 263 to 171 vote, underscoring the sense of urgency surrounding the measure.
“I know some Americans have concerns about this legislation, especially about the government’s role and the bill’s cost,” Bush said in remarks at the White House. “As a strong supporter of free enterprise, I believe government intervention should occur only when necessary. In this situation, action is clearly necessary.”
The measure, which passed the Senate on Wednesday, authorizes the government to buy — and later try to resell — bad mortgages and securities backed by them from banks and other financial institutions around the country.
Bush said the action should allow banks to begin lending again once they get the tainted assets off their books.
“By coming together on this legislation, we have acted boldly to help prevent the crisis on Wall Street from becoming a crisis in communities across our country,” Bush said. “We have shown the world that the United States of America will stabilize our financial markets and maintain a leading role in the global economy.”
“Ultimately, the cost to taxpayers will be far less than the initial outlay,” Bush said.
After his remarks, Bush walked the short distance to the Treasury Department where he was greeted by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who helped steer the complicated legislation through Congress and who will oversee the program for the remainder of Bush’s term.
When the two emerged about 25 minutes later, Bush told Paulson: “You and your team have worked incredibly hard.”
“I know that your people are exhausted in there,” he said.
An earlier version of the rescue plan was rejected in the House on Monday, sending stock markets plunging around the world and raising fears that the US was headed for the worst economic crisis since the 1930s.
But the bill was sweetened with tax cuts and an increase in the government insurance on deposits and savings accounts, to US$250,000, as leaders of both parties stepped up their efforts to corral support.
“A major problem in our financial system is that banks have restricted the flow of credit to businesses and consumers. Many of the assets these banks are holding have lost value,” Bush said.
He said the legislation that is now law “addresses this problem head-on by providing a variety of new tools to the government, such as allowing us to purchase some of the troubled assets and creating a new government insurance program that will guarantee the value of others.”
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source