Leaders rally troops for historic vote

Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle worked Sunday to battle back last minute doubts from the fringes of their caucuses on the relief package for Wall Street.

The lobbying on both sides of the aisle took place on the eve of the House's expected vote on the package on Monday.

{mosads}The final bill, reflecting an agreement between Republican and Democratic congressional negotiators and the Bush Administration, was posted on the House Speaker’s website as well as the websites of relevant committees. Interest was so high, several of those websites failed to load at first under the weight of so much web traffic.

As discussions and drafting turned into legislation, the size of the bill exploded.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's original Sept. 18 plan was only three pages long, but Congress’ finalized bill spanned to 110 pages. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) promised no changes would be made to the legislation after Sunday night.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said he believes enough lawmakers would vote for the finalized bill to secure its passage. Hoyer spoke after Democrats met for the last time Sunday night.

“I think we are going to pass it. It’s critically important to pass,” said Hoyer. “I hope we are going to pass it because I think Main Street needs this. If it was Wall Street, we wouldn’t pass it. But average Americans, working families, small businesses need this bill.”

A short time later, Republicans emerged from their own conference meeting, and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) urged his members to support the legislation.

“We've made it clear to our members that we support this bill,” Boehner said. “I'm encouraging every member of our conference whose conscience will allow it to support this bill … I think the real work will be done over the next couple of hours.”

House Republicans have provided the bulk of the opposition to the bailout. GOP leadership has tried to beat back those concerns by removing clauses in the package their conference believed would boost Democrat-aligned interest groups, or lead to increased government controls over the financial markets.

Throughout the day, Boehner and Blunt held meetings with small groups of members to gauge how the bill was playing in the conference. Boehner met with a small group of members he considers close friends while Blunt met with a group of retiring GOP lawmakers.

Boehner spoke briefly at a Republican conference meeting that lasted more than three hours, and then ceded the floor to his deputies. Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) spoke in favor of the bill.

Following the speakers, Conference Chairman Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) told members that only questions were permitted at the meeting — not opinions.

Ryan told colleagues that one of his district’s local banks was having trouble with his own deposits because of the credit crunch.

Rank and file members that left the meeting described the vote as one of the most difficult they would ever have to cast.

Rep. Chris Shays, a centrist Republican who represents a suburban Connecticut district Democrats have eyed for years, said he is leaning toward supporting the bill. Shays said, “I'm in a district that had more financial services jobs than anywhere else in the country.”

Shays said during the GOP meeting, retiring Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) stood and describing the bill as a “legacy vote.”

“Your leaders want to convince you but they know you will have to live with it the rest of your life,” said Shays.

“It’s my last vote,” Pickering told reporters, adding the members had gone through the five stages of grieving over the long week of negotiations. “We are getting toward acceptance,” he said.

Sources said the vote will be whipped by GOP leaders.

A significant number of Democrats, too, were feeling torn on whether to support the bill.

Walking out of a Sunday night caucus meeting – where members saw the bill on paper for the first time – a number of Democrats said they still has serious reservations.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), an original founder of the self-described Skeptics Caucus, walked out of the meeting about 15 minutes after it began. Asked if the meeting was done, DeFazio said; “No, I’m done.”

And Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.), the Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said a majority of his caucus won’t vote for the bill.

“There’s nothing in here that guarantees new jobs, nothing that guarantees salary increases,” Baca said. “And that’s a huge problem.”

Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) said the majority of undecided members are now moving toward supporting the proposal.

And Democrats appear to have been able to assuage the concerns of the conservative Blue Dogs, a huge conservative voting block within the caucus, with the inclusion of language guaranteeing that the Treasury can recoup some future profits from companies who sell their bad debt to the government.

But Democratic leaders still say they need a majority of the GOP conference to pass the bill.

“The burden is on the Republicans; this is their bill,” said Democratic Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) — who added that Pelosi has yet to tell him if he should whip his members.

Republican leaders touted the success they have had on making their own imprint on the bill after administration officials and senior Democrats took the lead last week on negotiating the legislation. Several provisions were either modified or removed due to GOP objections.

For example, a measure Republicans suspected would give union leaders a seat at the table at Wall Street’s largest firms was removed. The provision would have required a shareholder vote on proxy access to corporate boards for companies where the government has taken control.

In addition, a provision to create an affordable housing income fund from Wall Street assets was slashed. GOP members believed the money could be slated for activist groups that often side with the Democrats, including the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

Republicans were also pleased with a new measure in the bill that would create a mandatory insurance program, which they believe is more in line with their free market beliefs.

Democrats also boasted of significant concessions they won from the Bush Administration in negotiating the bailout.

Lawmakers were able to establish tough oversight controls and taxpayer protections in the relief measure. Treasury also will not get the full $700 billion it originally requested – or at least not right away, and unconditionally.

After the first $350 billion is disbursed from the bailout, congressional review will be required. In addition, the president five years from now will have to submit a plan to Capitol Hill to ensure taxpayers are repaid in full.

Democrats were also able to win limits on executive compensation on financial services firms the government would rescue. For companies purchased by the Treasury, there will be no multi-million dollar “golden parachutes” for executives who leave their firms.

Earlier Sunday, members of both parties huddled in the bowels of the Capitol with prominent economists to talk over the bailout. They even shared experts, with William Isaac, a former Federal Deposit Insurance Commission chairman, leaving a meeting of skeptical Democrats to join a Republican Policy Committee gathering across the hall.

Still, some members from both parties already said they would vote against the package.

“In its current form, I anticipate voting against it,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). “I have two problems with my constituents: they are either dead set against it or they don’t understand it.”

“Unless this bill is radically different, I am a ‘hell no,’” said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.).

The California lawmaker led a meeting with economists Sunday. Several prominent Democrats stopped by, including House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.).

In addition, members facing tough reelection fights, like Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-Kansas), were also present. Boyda said she is undecided.

Sherman asked his party’s leadership not to force a vote on Monday and afford more time to members to deliberate over the legislation. “We can draft a better bill,” he said.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Sunday night — when members have the bill in hand after more than a week of negotiating — will be critical.

“This is a period of time when people want to see legislation on paper, to see if the principles they stood up for are in the legislation,” Van Hollen said.

Written and reported by Jared Allen, Jackie Kucinich, J. Taylor Rushing and Kevin Bogardus.