US bailout plan needs stronger oversight: Nancy Pelosi

WASHINGTON: US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Saturday that Democrats want to deal swiftly with the Bush administration's $700 billion financial market rescue plan, but also want more oversight, taxpayer protections and regulatory reform.

"In working with the administration, we will strengthen the proposal by ensuring that the government is accountable to the taxpayers in any future actions under this broad grant of authority, implementing strong oversight mechanisms, and establishing fast-track authority for the Congress to act on responsible regulatory reform," she said in a statement.

"We will also seek to protect lower- and middle-income Americans ... from the fallout of the ongoing Wall Street crisis, by enacting an economic recovery package that creates jobs and returns growth to our economy," the California lawmaker added just hours after the rescue proposal was unveiled.