RISMEDIA, Oct. 2, 2008-(MCT/RISMedia)-In an historic vote, the Senate approved a massive $700 billion rescue plan for the nation’s finance system Wednesday night, but only after tacking on another $110 billion in tax breaks to lure votes from both parties.

A strong bipartisan majority rallied behind the controversial Wall Street bailout package, passing it by 74-25.

The vote sends the measure to an uncertain fate in the House of Representatives, where lawmakers rejected the original version on Monday, 228-205. A new House vote is expected on Friday, and many lawmakers in both parties there remain opposed to it.

President Bush, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have warned repeatedly that failure to pass the legislation would lead vital credit markets to seize up, forcing employers to lay off employees, plunging the economy into recession and perhaps even another Great Depression.

Senators of both parties, including Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama of Illinois and Republican presidential nominee John McCain of Arizona, said that threat made it imperative for Congress to pass the financial-rescue package.

“Inaction is not an option,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. “This is-I repeat-a crisis…We’ve got to get this done.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky agreed.

“The question is not how we got here, but how we get out,” McConnell said.
Not all senators went along.

“Action is clearly needed to return stability to our financial markets, but most importantly, effective, sound action is needed. To fix the markets, we must deliver a market-based solution, not a government bailout,” said Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C.

Many lawmakers voiced disdain for the extra tax breaks the Senate added to the financial-rescue package. They ranged from a one-year fix to prevent the alternative-minimum tax from hitting more taxpayers to extending the research credit for business to allowing rural utilities to issue tax-exempt bonds for use of renewable energy.