Senate leaders were confident they could deliver the votes needed sometime after 7:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday to pass the Wall Street bailout bill. If the controversial legislation clears the Senate with bipartisan support, the House was likely to consider the retooled bill on Friday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said.
The Senate wants to couple the measure with extension of some popular tax breaks to the middle-class and others while also providing more insurance -- a maximum $250,000 per account instead of $100,000 -- for people's bank deposits.
"I'm confident that we'll get a good strong bipartisan vote here in the Senate," predicted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat.
His Republican counterpart, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, added, "We're confident that the way we've got this package will work in the Senate and we're optimistic it'll work in the House."
President George W. Bush expressed confidence in the bill's fate this time around but warned lawmakers the measure was necessary "so as to stabilize this (economic) situation, so that it doesn't get worse."
Financial markets on Wednesday marked time in the run-up to the Senate vote, in contrast to the record 778-point drop on Monday in reaction to the failed vote in the House.
The expanded insurance for bank depositors would come as three of the biggest U.S. banks have succumbed to the crisis in recent months, with more teetering before the November 4 presidential and congressional elections.
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