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Sweeping Bailout Bill Unveiled
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The negotiators gathered just after 3 p.m. Saturday under an ornate painting of Abraham Lincoln in a large conference room in Pelosi's suite of offices on the second floor of the Capitol. The first few hours were intense and contentious, participants said, marked by shouting over executive pay and a last-minute Democratic request for a fee on the financial services industry to cover the cost of the bailout program.
When details about the fee quickly leaked to reporters in a hallway outside Pelosi's offices, a senior aide walked around the negotiating table confiscating BlackBerrys, labeled them by name with Post-It notes and dumped them into a recycling bin.
As negotiations dragged into the night, Paulson -- already drained by weeks of crisis management -- appeared at one point to be weary and teary-eyed, according to Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), prompting lawmakers to fear for his health. "Are you okay?" asked Gregg, who suggested calling the Capitol physician. Paulson waved them off, saying he was just very tired.
Just before midnight, Pelosi called the White House chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, to report an impasse over executive compensation and the industry fee. With Emanuel on the call, Pelosi threatened to let lawmakers vote on the two issues, which she thought would pass overwhelmingly.
"You gotta understand, this is politics at this point," Emanuel told Bolten, a friendly rival. The White House and Paulson soon reached to a compromise.
The meeting finally broke up around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, when Paulson and lawmakers briefly addressed journalists. After the historic declarations beneath a statue of Will Rogers, Paulson locked arms with Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and leaned heavily on the senator for support as they walked away.
Staff writers Dan Eggen contributed to this report.
