US congress weighing plan to bail out firms

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration has asked Congress for $700 billion to bail out debt-ridden firms, and Democratic lawmakers said that though they agreed with the plan, they wanted some changes in it.

The administration sought extraordinary authority from the Democrat-controlled Congress on Saturday to tackle the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Democratic legislators, however, have asked for changes such as more oversight, limits on executives' pay in participating firms, and help for homeowners.