Bush signs the $700 billion bank rescue hours after the House passes it
Credit markets had been freezing for weeks, and the House had already voted the bailout down once, 205 to 228, on September 29. On October 3, 2008, the House passed an amended version 263 to 171, the Senate having approved it two days earlier, 74 to 25. President Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act within hours, creating the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program to buy up distressed bank assets. The Dow kept falling anyway…
