Dodd says bailout plan won’t be ‘Christmas tree’

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said Friday that the legislative proposal to try and solve Wall Street's woes would not turn into a "Christmas tree" for the slew of leftover measures lawmakers are pushing before the session ends next week. 

Dodd huddled with members of his committee Friday as they awaited details on the administration's plan to mount the biggest government intervention in the financial markets since the 1930s. Lawmakers could see legislative language as early as Friday afternoon to create a new systematic approach to buy bad debt from financial institutions.

{mosads}Dodd said the proposal would be “very costly,” but declined to give an estimate. However, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said earlier Friday it would cost “hundreds of billions.”

Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify Tuesday before the committee.

“One thing will not happen this time: We want to know the details of this before it is being presented to the American people,” Dodd told reporters.

He said the committee has an obligation to review the administration’s details and “add our own thoughts and ideas of what they're going to be.”

Dodd noted, however: “This will not be a Christmas tree. This is not going to be a piece of legislation that involves every idea that everyone's had that they want to attach to this.”

Democrats are trying to push through more than $50 billion worth of relief for individuals, industries and states, including an extension of unemployment benefits, food stamps, as well as infrastructure and Medicare funding.

It's not clear which, if any, of these proposals will be added to the rescue plan. Dodd signaled that the measure will include provisions to deal with the housing crisis, which is the root of the financial turmoil on Wall Street.

"We want to deal with causes and effects here, if we're going to bring to closure the most serious — the most serious economic challenge of our lifetime," Dodd said.

The flurry of action comes after Bernanke and Paulson held an emergency meeting Thursday night with congressional leaders. Dodd said the meeting was “the most sobering” moment in his 28-year Senate career.

Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), a member of Democratic leadership, said Friday he "gulped" when he heard Bernanke describe that the economy would crash if Congress does not ease the credit crunch.

Schumer wouldn't say whether Democrats would tie their stimulus package to the rescue plan, or whether each would go on a separate track.

"I believe we should try this week to fix both ends: the financial crisis and the mortgage crisis," Schumer said.

He added that a legislative proposal could come from the administration as early as Friday afternoon.