The U.S. House of Representatives passed the U.S. Treasury Department’s US$700-billion bailout plan, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, on Friday afternoon by a vote of 263 to 171.

The vote for passage of the bill, which was amended by the Senate on Wednesday, followed strong lobbying by the White House and other supporters, including both presidential candidates, as well as a tumultuous week in the markets.

The House narrowly rejected an earlier version of the bailout plan on Monday. But work on revising it began almost as quickly and a modified version went to the Senate, which passed the bill by a vote of 74 to 25 on Wednesday.

The bill, which is the biggest government intervention in the financial markets since the Great Depression, is now being sent to U.S. President George W. Bush for his signature.

In addition to many features, the bill allows the Treasury Department to buy up bad debt from various lending institutions, which is expected to give credit markets a kick-start.