The House Republicans and Democrats voted to approve an $800 billion rescue plan designed to bring stability to the financial markets.

After a tumultuous week that included House politicians voting down the first rescue bill and Senate approving an amended  version of the bill, politicians did what was expected an approved the bill. 

The vote was approved to 263 to 171. 

Politicians have been reticent to approve the legislation, given the widespread opposition to the bill by Americans who view it as a bailout for greedy executives on Wall Street. Still, political leaders including presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama -- who both voted for the bill in the Senate -- have urged party members to back the bill, saying something has to be done to avert an even worse decline in the economy.

The reaction to Monday’s no vote, was swift. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 700 points and continued on a roller coaster ride the remainder of the week. The major stock indexes are solidly higher, underscoring that Wall Street wants the rescue. The amended bill included items that would make it more palatable to politicians like raising the FDIC insurance to $250,000 from $100,000.

The vote comes amid new signs that the economy is weakening. The Federal Reserve said Thursday that financial intuitions reduced short term loans to companies by a record $94.9 billion, bringing the total decline to $208 billion in the past three weeks. General Electric (GE), a blue-chip stalwart, this week was forced to raise billions of dollars at less-than-stellar terms.

Despite worrying signs the economy is weakening, many Americans are still opposed to the rescue plan. Their reluctance did moderate somewhat after the steep decline in the stock markets Monday but is still strong.

The rescue plan is designed to restore liquidity and stability to the financial markets and protect home values, college funds, retirement accounts and savings account. With some exceptions, the authorities of the act will terminate two years from the date of the enactment.

As part of the bill, the Treasury Secretary is authorized to create a troubled asset relief program called TARP to purchase troubled assets from any financial institution. “Troubled assets” include residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to mortgages. It also includes any financial instruments that the secretary determines necessary to purchase to promote stability in the financial markets. That includes troubled assets held by, or on behalf of, eligible retirement plans.

The secretary is only allowed to spend $250 billion to buy troubled assets at any one time. The president has the authority to request an additional $350 billion from Congress. The secretary has access to a total of $700 billion, and tax incentives and other add-ons to the plan put about $100 billion additional into it.