U.S. House bailout vote fails

The House of Representatives Monday rejected by a vote of 228-205 a Wall Street bailout bill that would have authorized the Treasury Department to spend up to US$700-billion to purchase broken mortgage-backed bonds from banks with the goal of jump-starting stalled capital markets.Defeated by skeptics from both parties who questioned the need for it and whether it would work, the bailout plan was proposed by the Bush administration on Sept. 20.