US legislators have given a mixed reaction to the proposed $700bn bank bailout in its current form.
They indicated they were wary of the emergency plan after hearing testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
Mr Paulson warned of dire economic consequences if the plan is not approved.
The proposal would give the US government power to purchase bad mortgage-related debt - subprime loans to people with shaky credit - which sparked the current crisis more than a year ago.
But with elections less than two months away and distrust of Wall Street running high, Congress seems reluctant to hand taxpayers such an enormous bill, or appearing to reward bank executives for the debacle.
Capitol Hill's reluctance is a setback for the Bush administration and undercut a show of confidence in Wall Street by Warren Buffett, who has invested €5bn in the revamped Goldman Sachs.
Mr Buffett, whose stock picks are followed by investors around the globe, made the move less than 48 hours after Goldman and Morgan Stanley gave up their once vaunted status as investment banks.
In after-hours trading, Goldman shares shot up 8.1%.
Meanwhile the two mortgage giants at the heart of the subprime loans crisis, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, have also been taken over by the government along with global insurer AIG.
Media reports late yesterday said that Lehman Brothers, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and AIG were all among firms being investigated by the FBI for 'misinformation' about their assets.
FBI Director Robert Mueller said last week that the bureau was probing 26 financial institutions but gave no details.
US TV network ABC said last night the investigation was much deeper than had been earlier believed.
