The Bush administration’s Wall Street bailout continues to come under scrutiny as top officials push Congress to accept the plan. On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke appeared before the Senate Banking Committee for five hours of questioning. Bernanke told lawmakers the nation’s financial well-being rests on approving the bailout.

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke: “My interest is solely for the strength and the recovery of the US economy. I believe if the credit markets are not functioning, that jobs will be lost, the unemployment rate will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, GDP will contract, that the economy will just not be able to recover in a normal healthy way, no matter what other policies are taken. I therefore think this is a precondition for a good healthy recovery by our economy.”

The Wall Street bailout plan has been criticized on several grounds. Critics say it will place unprecedented power in the Treasury and take Wall Street off the hook for its own greed. Democrats are said to be pushing for greater homeowner assistance and limits on executive pay for government-aided firms. Other proposals have included having the government issue low-interest loans to struggling firms, rather than directly buying out their bad debts, and having the government only purchase those securities and mortgages from firms that could later hold some value.