President Bush held a brief press conference earlier this morning at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in support of the administration’s recent decision to inject approximately $250 billion into both large and small banks to stabilize the economy. This decision, though not surprising, is a result of the recent passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA), passed by Congress and signed into public law by the president on October 3rd, which gave the U.S. Department of Treasury authority to use up to $700 billion to purchase distressed assets and restore liquidity to the financial market.
According to President Bush, “these are decisive measures aimed at the heart of our financial challenges. And they’re big enough and bold enough to work. And the American people can be confident that they will.”
This press conference followed an earlier press release submitted by Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, who also supports the U.S. Treasury’s decision to utilize EESA.