All four of the United States Senators representing Nebraska and Iowa voted in favor of the bill to rescue the nation's financial industry.

They each issued statements following the vote. Portions of those statements follow:

Senator Ben Nelson, (D) Nebraska:

"I am angry and frustrated that Wall Street's excesses have pushed our economy to the brink. I opposed the Administration's initial 'blank-check' bailout; the legislation we approved today includes necessary steps I fought for that will protect taxpayers, get rid of unwarranted CEO bonuses and help homeowners and those facing foreclosure.

"I'm not sympathetic to Wall Street; if the financial crisis we are facing ended there, I'd say 'write off your losses, you deserve it.' But our economy lies at the intersection of Main Street and Wall Street; we depend on a free flow of credit to keep our businesses running, to reverse rising unemployment, and repair our economy so it can once again work for the middle class. Our credit markets are freezing up.

"I reluctantly supported this legislation because of the fundamental truth that the fate of our financial system and the fate of our hometown economic prosperity are inexorably linked."

Senator Tom Harkin, (D) Iowa:

"I reluctantly voted in favor of this bill because I believe our nation's financial system faces serious challenges, and it is important for us to act. However, I am under no illusions. I firmly believe that Congress should not have been rushed into this action, but we needed to do something to calm the markets and restore confidence in our economy. While this package will do that in the short term, we must modify it early next year to strengthen and improve the rescue framework - and I will be leading the charge to do that.

"Over the last week, I did my best to strengthen and improve this package, including demanding the creation of a Special Inspector General to oversee the emergency efforts of the Treasury Department, and to investigate the any waste, fraud, and abuse as the bailout goes forward. I was pleased to see that this recommendation was included in the final bill.

"I also chose to support this bill because of the provisions that are vitally important to my home state, including tax breaks for Iowans and Iowa businesses recovering after the floods and tax benefits that will create new jobs in the wind and biofuels industries."

Senator Chuck Grassley, (R) Iowa:

"During the last week, I've heard from Iowans that they don't like this legislation. Many are angry that taxpayers are being asked to clean up a mess without any consequences for those who created the mess. They don't want to throw good money after bad with a $700 billion bill that doesn't fix the laws and regulations that let the housing and financial sectors get so out of control.

My vote for this bill is not easy because I respect those concerns, and I agree with them. At the same time, this legislation is the best opportunity we have today to avoid a credit crunch that might cripple our economy. No doubt credit will be tighter with or without this bill as the system becomes more cautious after acting too fast and loose for too long. The argument for this bill is that by unplugging the pipeline that's clogged up with bad debt, good credit can flow. The U.S. Treasury can hold all that bad debt until its value returns with the goal of having the taxpayers recover some of the money, and possibly a great deal of the money, that's being committed with this legislation."

Senator Chuck Hagel, (R) Nebraska:

Earlier in the week Senator Chuck Hagel issued a statement in support of the legislation.

"This is important legislation that addresses the financial and mortgage problems and credit and liquidity freeze that our economy is facing. It will not solve all the problems, however it will be important in helping our markets regain new confidence which is the essence of economic stability."