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WASHINGTON (CBS4) ― With the economy on the brink of meltdown and elections looming, a reluctant Congress abruptly reversed course and approved a historic $700 billion government bailout of the battered financial industry on Friday. President Bush swiftly signed it.

The 263-171 vote capped two weeks of tumult in Congress and on Wall Street, punctuated by urgent warnings from Bush that the country confronted the gravest economic disaster since the Great Depression if lawmakers failed to act.
President Bush and congressional leaders lobbied furiously for the dozen or so supporters they needed to reverse Monday's stunning setback and approve a massive rescue plan designed to stave off national economic disaster.
One of the people who changed their vote to yes is South Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

"Well what changed was not my vote," said Ros-Lehtinen. "What changed was the bill."

Ros-Lehtinen touted the increase in FDIC insurance on bank accounts to $250,000, and aid tax breaks were the key. She also commented on all the riders that are now part of the bill.
"Every bill unfortunately has those terrible add-ons," she said. "Now the best thing you can do in Congress is to vote no on everything. It's the safest thing. But does that really get us going?"

Lincoln Diaz-Balart and his brother though didn't see it that way.

"Requiring Wall Street to contribute to the solution, to contribute to the problem that Wall Street created is still not in the bill, so it wasn't acceptable," said Diaz-Balart.
Anything but reassured, investors sent the Dow Jones industrials plunging another 348 points, suggesting Wall Street is expecting tougher economic times even if the measure was rushed into law. The Federal Reserve reported record emergency lending to banks and investment firms, fresh evidence of the credit troubles squeezing the country.

"A lot of people are watching," Bush pointed out -- as if lawmakers needed reminding -- and he argued from the White House that the huge rescue measure was the best chance to calm unnerved financial markets and ease the credit crunch. He was calling dozens of lawmakers, a spokesman said.

Democratic and Republican leaders worked over wayward colleagues wherever they could find them.

"Monday what we had was a bailout for Wall Street firms and not much relief for taxpayers and hard-hit families. Now we have an economic rescue package," Ros-Lehtinen previously told The Associated Press.

Rep. Zach Wamp of Tennessee, another of the 133 House Republicans who joined 95 Democrats Monday to reject the measure, also announced he was onboard, even though "I hate it." He told the AP, "Inaction to me is a greater danger to our country than this bill."

Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad of Minnesota also switched to "yes," partly because the Senate attached the bailout to legislation he spearheaded to give people with mental illnesses better health insurance coverage.

Emboldened by the feverish bidding for votes, other members of both parties were demanding substantial changes to the legislation before they would vote for it. A group of Republican opponents indicated they'd back it if the price tag were slashed to $250 billion and several special tax breaks added by the Senate -- including for children's archery bow makers, imported rum producers and racetrack owners --were removed. Democrats wanted to add a way to pay for the bailout and more help for homeowners staring at foreclosure.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said no, such revisions were impossible because they would slow the measure's enactment and further shake markets.

"I don't think that any changes here will do what we need to do, which is right now to send a message of confidence to the markets that Congress will act," she said.

The Senate breathed new life into the measure Wednesday after the stinging House defeat, voting 74-25 to approve the bailout, with additions designed to appeal to key constituencies. Business lobbyists were also inundating Capitol Hill in a rush to win over wavering lawmakers in both parties.

The changes helped satisfy some Republican critics, but angered conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats who are concerned about swelling the deficit. Still, Hoyer predicted the number of Democratic defectors "is going to be minimal."

In efforts to appease GOP opponents, the Senate added a provision to raise, from $100,000 to $250,000, the limit on federal deposit insurance.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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