WASHINGTON — President Bush is thinking of giving a speech to the nation on the ailing financial markets, the White House said Wednesday, amid persistent criticism of a $700 billion bailout plan and the Federal Reserve chairman's warning that economic growth depends on it.

Ben Bernanke, the Fed chief, told Congress' Joint Economic Committee that the Federal Reserve will "act as needed" to minimize disruptions to business life. His appearance came a day after he and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson heard withering criticism of the Bush administration's proposed $700 billion bailout plan and not long after Bush said he was confident an agreement would be reached soon on a "robust" plan to relieve the stress.

Second-guessing of the bailout plan continued on Capitol Hill. And on Wall Street, the financial markets remained tense, with stocks fluctuating, following investor Warren Buffett's decision to invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The credit markets showed added strain as investors await news about the government's plan to rescue banks from crippling debt.

Meanwhile, Bush's chief spokeswoman, Dana Perino, revealed that the president is considering a formal speech to the nation — his first such talk in over a year — and said the country is at risk of a "calamity" without bold action to calm down the markets and soothe nervous Americans.
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o Senators Express Reservations on Bailout, Despite Pleas for Swift Passage

Amid a raft of statements of anger and doubt about the bailout plan, Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday that "it's not my job to just echo people being mad. I'm going to choose the bad choice over the catastrophic choice."

Speaking to South Carolina reporters, the Republican said, "We don't have the luxury of kicking this can down the road like we did with immigration or social security and dealing with it another day hoping somebody braver than us will come along and have courage that we can't muster to deal with immigration or social security. This is on our watch."

Reflecting the urgency of the situation, White House officials revealed that Bush had taken Air Force One back to Washington from a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York and said he was canceling a planned fundraising trip to Florida to help the Republican Party. Bush had canceled a similar trip last week.

Perino said Bush has been trying to address the public's many questions and concerns and was weighing whether, when and where to have such a speech.

Pleading for Congress to act quickly, Bernanke said: "Choking up of credit is like taking the lifeblood away from the economy."

Asked whether the country would plunge into a depression if lawmakers do not enact a bill, Bernanke said he didn't want to make such a comparison. But he also said there would be "certainly very negative implications," including likely losses on retirement funds and other investments held by millions of ordinary Americans.

Bernanke and Paulson made the case for the plan in a closed-door meeting with House Republicans Wednesday morning, where lawmakers voiced new doubts about the bailout and said their constituents were overwhelmingly opposed to it.

"The American people are furious about the fact that Congress is being asked to put up some $700 billion to help stem off this economic crisis," said Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio, the GOP leader. Still, he said "Congress has a responsibility to act," and added that he hoped to strike a bipartisan deal that could pass within days.

Bush has an uphill battle in selling the rescue, however, even to members of his own party.

Asked during their session with Paulson how many of them backed the plan, just four Republican hands went up, said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R-Va.

"It's a tough sell to most of our members," Davis said. "It's a terrible plan, but I haven't heard anything better."

Republicans and Democrats both say Bush has lost credibility on Capitol Hill, particularly in cases where he argues there will be dire consequences if Congress doesn't act.

"They sold the war, they sold the stimulus package and some other things. It's the 'wolf at the door' " argument, Davis said.

"It's hard being trusting" of Bush's bailout plan, said Democratic Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, D-Ill, who said the administration's full-court press to sell it reminded him of the one the White House mounted before the Iraq war.

"You feel like you're always getting hoodwinked, because they say the consequences if you don't do it is a complete demise and collapse of the system," he said.

Executives whose companies get a piece of the assistance would have their pay packages strictly limited under proposals that broadly supported by both Republicans and Democrats.

The administration was resisting that move as it scrambled to overcome widespread misgivings and swiftly push through its plan to rescue tottering financial firms by buying up their rotten assets.

Frank has proposed adding substantial congressional oversight over the bailout and a requirement that the government make an effort to renegotiate as many of the mortgages it purchases in the rescue as possible to help strapped borrowers stay in their homes. Paulson was said to be willing to accept those revisions.

Frank also has been pushing to allow the government to buy equity — rather than just bad debt — in companies it helps so taxpayers can benefit from future profits. That idea is also gaining bipartisan support, but Paulson argues it would hamstring the very companies the government is trying to help.

He also is strongly opposed to another key Democratic priority: letting judges rewrite mortgages to lower bankrupt homeowners' monthly payments. Democrats view that measure as the heaviest lift and the most likely to be dropped as part of a final deal.

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