Congress approves $700 billion bailout; bill signed by President

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $700 billion bailout plan to acquire a significant amount of bad debt to stabilize the country's financial market.

The controversial bill ultimately passed 263-171, having passed the Senate earlier this week.

Government officials urged the action to stave off a potential credit freeze, as the New York Times reported yesterday that many banks had stopped loaning money to each other, which further exacerbated the credit crunch.

Georgia Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, whose district includes Fayette and Coweta counties, voted against the bill, according to his spokesperson Brian Robinson.

Westmoreland, in a written statement after the vote, said while Congress can help with the issue, he doesn't think legislation is the answer.

"Because of this week’s actions in Washington, Americans who pay their taxes and who pay their mortgages on time and who acted responsibly will be handed a tab for up to $700 billion," Westmoreland said in the release. "My constituents in Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District called and wrote me in record numbers over the past two weeks, and by a margin of 9-1 they asked me to oppose this bill.

“This bailout may or may not help our economy in the short term. In the long term, it puts us on a dangerous path toward government ownership of private securities and creates a ‘moral hazard’ – investors and businesses will believe that risky bets will enrich them if they succeed and government will write a check if they fail."