The U.S. House of Representatives passed an updated $700 billion bailout bill Friday, and President George Bush signed it later that afternoon.
The bill, which failed in the House last week, causing the stock market to plummet, allows the government to buy the assets of failing companies, mostly in the mortgage business.
Wisconsin Representatives voted the same way they did for the original bill, with five voting for and three voting against it.
U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said in a statement she supported the bill because without action America could fall into a severe depression.
I do believe Congress needed to act, and has, in a responsible way that responds to the immediate crisis and takes steps to prevent such greed and mismanagement from ever happening again,"" she said.
U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., voted against the bill and said in a statement giving the government power to spend more money is not the correct solution.
""Consumers and businesses alike have lived well beyond their means due to an over-reliance on credit,"" he said. ""No one, however, has been a bigger offender of financial irresponsibility than the federal government.""
According to Stephen Malpezzi, UW-Madison professor of economics, the bailout attempts to solve far-reaching economic problems that have caused banks to stop lending to each other and reduce the number of personal loans they give out, including student loans.
""It isn't just about the housing market or these Wall Street firms, but it's about the fact that credit is so much tighter throughout the economy,"" he said.
UW-Madison graduate student Rishi Adhekari said although feeding money into the economy is not a long-term solution, he is happy the government put a ""temporary halt on things going bad.
