Congressional leaders said shortly after midnight that they had reached a tentative deal over the White House's proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial system.
Members of both parties and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson were aiming to craft final legislation by Sunday evening - in time for the start of financial markets around the world.
"We've been working very hard on this and we've made great progress toward a deal that will work and will be effective in the marketplace and effective for all Americans," Paulson said.
Paulson made the announcement along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other legislators. They characterized the accord as an agreement in principle.
"Now it's got to be turned over to the lawyers, turned into final language," said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
The Bush administration, in the government's boldest strike yet at the credit crisis, is seeking congressional authority for Treasury to buy as much as $700 billion in troubled mortgage and other assets weighing down banks and other financial institutions. The goal is to free up banks to start lending again.
Under the tentative deal being finalized, the rescue program would be overseen by a board including the Treasury Secretary, Secretary of Commerce, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission and chairman of the Federal Reserve, said Conrad, who heads the Senate Budget Committee.
