(RTTNews) - President George W. Bush pledged to sign the $700 billion financial rescue plan into law Friday, praising Congress for passing the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act following a tense week on Capitol Hill.

There were “moments this week when some folks thought the federal government could not rise to the challenge,” Bush noted, but he thanked members of both the Democratic and Republican parties for their efforts.

Bush singled out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Minority leader John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) and ranking member Spencer Bachus (R-AL) as representatives to whom he is “especially grateful.”

“By coming together on this legislation we have acted boldly to prevent” the crisis on Wall Street from spreading to Main Street, Bush said.

He added that by passing the legislation, albeit on the second try, the House of Representatives showed the world that America “will stabilize our financial markets and maintain a leading role” in the world economy.

He stated that families would be able to get auto, car, and student loans thanks to the legislation’s role in unfreezing the credit markets.

The president commented on the scope of the intervention briefly, noting how he believes that government intervention “should occur only when necessary.” The financial turmoil was one such situation that warranted action, he said.

Impact from the legislation will not be evident immediately, Bush warned. In fact, it will take “some time to have legislation to have full impact on our economy,” he said.

Implementation “should be done as expeditiously as possible but cannot be accomplished overnight,” he added.

The economy is not out of the woods yet, Bush cautioned, nothing that it “continues to face serious challenges.”

It will “take more time and determined effort to get through this difficult period,” he said.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Releases, UK, USA.

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