WASHINGTON—With the economy on the brink and elections looming, Congress approved an unprecedented $700 billion government bailout of the battered financial industry today and sent it to President Bush who immediately signed the bill.

The final vote was 263-171 in the House, with Hawaii Reps. Mazie Hirono and Neil Abercrombie both voting for the bill. The two Democrats had voted against an earlier version that failed in the House on Monday. The original bill was amended and passed by the Senate and sent back to the House for today's vote.

Abercrombie said the new bill “;offers improvements and protections beyond the original House bill for individual taxpayers: it increases FDIC's coverage from $100,000 to $250,000 per individual account holder; provides opportunity for additional help with mortgages, and offers income tax relief for 91,000 Hawaii households.”;

Hirono said the bill was “;far from perfect,”; but has enough additions to make it an improvement.

”;The biggest difference, the package today is more balanced in favor of helping everyday people, middle-class families and small businesses,”; Hirono said. “;The renewable energy tax credits are critical to encouraging investment in the alternative energy projects Hawaii needs.”;

Included in the huge bailout bill is $800 million in new clean renewable energy bonds that can be used by municipal power facilities or by electric cooperatives such as the Kauai Island Electric Utility, Hirono said.

The amended bill passed by comfortable margin that was 58 more votes than the measure garnered in Monday's stunning defeat. The vote capped two weeks of tumult in Congress and on Wall Street, punctuated by daily warnings that the country confronted the gravest economic crisis since the Great Depression if lawmakers failed to act.

At the White House, Bush declared, “;We have acted boldly to prevent the crisis on Wall Street from becoming a crisis in communities across our country.”;

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pledged quick action to get the program up and operating.

”;We all know that we are in the midst of a financial crisis,”; House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio, said shortly before casting his vote for government intervention in private capital markets that was unthinkable only a month ago.

”;And we know that if we do nothing, this crisis is likely to worsen and to put us into an economic slump like most of us have never seen.”;

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the bill was needed to “;Begin to shape the financial stability of our country and the economic security of our people.”;

In a written statement, Abercrombie said, “;This Senate bill will provide some breathing room to address the underlying challenges to the financial system.  However, I will urge Speaker Pelosi to bring the House back into session immediately after the November election to enact the specific systemic reforms outlined in two bills I have cosponsored (H.R.7125 and HR 7240), reforms not adequately addressed in the Senate legislation.”;