Congressional leaders from both parties are reporting they've got an agreement in principle on a bailout of the U-S financial industry. Lawmakers will now bring their proposals to the Treasury Department. Members of the Senate Banking Committee say they are confident the bill will pass both houses and that President Bush will sign it.

“But this is the time we tried to come together, both chambers, both parties, to respond to the request we've received from the Bush Administration,” says Chris Dodd (D) Connecticut.

“We believe we've done that. As leaders on this issue, as the appropriate commitees of responsibility. We've obviously got to talk to our respective leadership, but we're very confident that we can act expeditiously but we think we've done a good job at arriving at that kind of consensus.”

The White House calls this development a good sign, but cautions that it still needs to be examined. President Bush has been urging Congress to pass the 700-billion dollar rescue package the Treasury proposed last weekend.

Congress wants oversight of the Treasury's actions, limits on the pay of executives whose companies benefit from the rescue plan, and help for families facing foreclosure.