Bush welcomes House approval of bailout bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush welcomed the passage of a $700 billion financial rescue package by the House of Representatives on Friday and promised to sign the bill into law as soon as he receives it.

"We have acted boldly to help prevent the crisis on Wall Street from becoming a crisis in communities across our country," Bush said after the House approved the bailout by a vote of 263-171, reversing its rejection of the bill earlier in the week that sent world stock markets reeling.

Bush cautioned, however, that it would take some time for the legislation to yield benefits for the economy, which he said was still facing serious challenges.

Congressional passage of the bill came after repeated appeals by Bush and under pressure from leading Democrats and Republicans alike to take action to help cure a spreading global financial crisis.

"When Congress sends me the final bill, I'm going to sign it into law," Bush said in the White House Rose Garden. He was due to leave in the afternoon for a political fund-raiser in St. Louis and a weekend stay at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

The House shocked world markets on Monday by voting down a previous draft, widely seen as Bush's biggest legislative defeat and stark evidence of his declining influence in the final months of his presidency.

With November 4 elections looming, many lawmakers had been wary of voter backlash in asking taxpayers to pay for Wall Street's mistakes.

The bill will allow the U.S. Treasury to buy toxic debt from banks, which many economists said is necessary to head off the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

"Exercising the authorities in this bill in a responsible way will require a careful analysis and deliberation," Bush said. "This will be done as expeditiously as possible but it cannot be accomplished overnight."

"We'll take the time necessary to design an effective program that achieves its objectives and does not waste taxpayers' dollars," he added.

He took note of objections to the bill but insisted it was the best course of action to curb the financial crisis.

"I know some Americans have concerns about this legislation, especially about the government's role and the bill's cost," Bush said.

"As a strong supporter of free enterprise, I believe government intervention should occur only when necessary. In this situation, action is clearly necessary. Ultimately the cost to taxpayers will be far less than the initial outlay."

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Jeremy Pelofsky; Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by James Dalgleish)