September 24, 2008 Lawmakers question bailout's big price tag Play video

(Peter Howe, NECN) - The Bush administration is pushing for quick passage of the bill. Still, there are fears negotiations could go into next week. Lawmakers say the administration is looking for too much unregulated cash -- and too much power.

Another long day of testimony -- and politics -- on Capitol Hill about the Wall Street bailout plan. But with treasury secretary Paulson accepting the close oversight congress was demanding, debate now seems to turn on three big questions

First, why does it have to be 700 billion dollars?

New York senator Chuck Schumer’s proposing to start with, say, 150 billion dollars. See how that works and only then put up more if needed. Bush aides were noncommittal. BU professor Mark Williams says so far the administration has failed to explain ... Why 700 billion? Why not 500 or 300 or 900?

“The basic question, if taxpayers are gonna be bailing this out, I’d like to know, how was it calculated?”

Barney Frank says the 700 billion could wind up, net, 150 billion as the treasury recoups the cost by selling assets.

Dave Lussco knows many sides of this mess ... 15 years trading Fannie Mae bonds on Wall Street, now a top executive at realty website opthome.com

Like pushing on one side of a balloon, banning foreclosures could pop up the bailout cost to taxpayers.

If they go out and were just to carte blanche reduce interest rates or say banks cannot foreclose that will pretty quickly reduce

And finally, how can, and how much can, this bill put a lid on Wall Street pay?

Corporate America’s evaded most efforts to cap executive pay. And Mark Williams asks do we really want to deter the best and most expensive talent from Wall Street.

There has to be an incentive to actually capture strong executives so they will want to work at top companies

And all those obscenely overpaid masters of the universe on Wall Street? Dave Lussco predicts, a nasty surprise.

The current government employees are not in my opinion capable of figuring this out. They're gonna have to hire the Wall Street, the very experts who created the mess to help unwind it