WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress has embraced an idea to help prop up the financial system: Give banks a break by letting them value their bad mortgage assets at a price they could fetch later, not now.

Lawmakers want the Securities and Exchange Commission to implement the idea as part of the $700 billion financial bailout package. But critics fear that might only postpone the reckoning for banks -- and taxpayers.

Since 2007, the banks have had to value their mortgage-related assets at current market prices, a form of accounting called "fair market value," or the snappier "mark to market."

The board that governs accounting principles imposed the rule out of concern that companies had misled investors for years about the true value of their assets.

Devastated by the write-downs they have been forced to take on mortgage assets since the collapse of the housing market, banks are pushing hard for a change. They say today's hammered prices shouldn't set the long-term value of their assets.

But critics, including analysts and advocates for investors, say such a change would be dangerous.

"Financial statements would essentially lose all meaning," says Octavio Marenzi, head of consulting firm Celent.

The American Bankers Association said in a letter to the SEC that current accounting standards "never

WASHINGTON (AP) -- After one spectacular failure, the $700 billion financial industry bailout found a second life Wednesday, speeding toward passage in the Senate and gaining ground in the House, where conservative opposition seemed to soften.

Senators loaded the economic rescue bill with tax breaks and other sweeteners for the right and left, hoping to secure approval in the House by Friday, just days after lawmakers there stunningly rejected an earlier version and sent markets plunging around the globe.

The measure has not caused the same uproar in the Senate, where both parties' presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, were making rare appearances to vote their support. That would send the package back to the House, where passage would require a turnaround of 12 votes from Monday's 228-205 defeat.

Leaders in both parties, as well as private economic chiefs everywhere, said Congress must quickly approve some version of the measure to start loans flowing and stave off a potential national economic disaster.

"This is what we need to do right now to prevent the possibility of a crisis turning into a catastrophe," Obama said on the Senate floor. In Missouri, before flying to Washington, McCain said, "If we fail to act, the gears of our economy will grind to a halt."

At the White House, President Bush said, "It's very important for members to take this bill very seriously."

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is investing $3 billion in General Electric Co., a huge vote of confidence for an iconic American company battered by the financial crisis.

For the second time in just over a week, Berkshire Hathaway has moved to shore up a company long known for its ironclad fiscal health. Buffett's company invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs last week after the famed investment bank's shares had slumped. Investors feared Goldman could face similar funding squeezes as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.

For GE, the cash infusion marks another dramatic turn in a turbulent 2008. The company, which makes everything from light bulbs to jet engines and owns NBC Universal, has cut its earnings forecast twice since April due to problems with its financing unit, GE Capital. It has also announced a reorganization and unveiled plans to spin off or sell its famed appliances unit.

The stock has fallen 42 percent in the past year.

Buffett, after announcing his investment on Wednesday, praised Fairfield, Conn.-based, General Electric.

"GE is the symbol of American business to the world," he said in a statement. "They have strong global brands and businesses ... I am confident that GE will continue to be successful in the years to come."

Analysts said Buffett's endorsement will mean as much or even more than Berkshire's cash.

"He's a smart guy and he wouldn't get involved if he doesn't think it's a great company," said analyst Mike