WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Bush has signed into law a far-reaching $700 billion bill to bail out the nation's tottering financial industry, shortly after it won final approval from Congress.

The president signed the measure at his desk in the Oval Office. Photographers were invited in to capture the moment.

The president signed the bill after returning from the Treasury Department where he thanked employees for their work on the rescue package.

With the economy on the brink and elections looming, Congress approved the unprecedented government bailout of the battered financial industry Friday morning.

In a 263-171 vote, the Hose passed the $700 billion in government money to bring stability to reeling financial markets.

Member after member went to the well of the chamber to voice discomfort and displeasure with many aspects of the bailout legislation. But they also said said they would vote for it anyway. And nearly 30 who voted against it on Monday said they had changed their minds.

The Dow Jones industrial average on Wall Street was up in early trading in anticipation of the climactic vote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it a vote for "Mr. and Mrs. Jones on Main Street."

An Associated Press tally showed 29 lawmakers who sent an earlier bailout bill to unexpected defeat on Monday had changed their minds and would vote in favor of the revised legislation, far more than the dozen needed. Officials said changes made to the measure had sparked a far smaller number of defections among previous supporters.

Critics were unrelenting.

"How can we have capitalism on the way up and socialism on the way down," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, a leader among conservative Republicans who oppose the central thrust of the legislation - an unprecedented federal intervention into the private capital markets.

It was little more than two weeks ago that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke concluded that the economy was in such danger that a massive government intervention in the private markets was essential.

The core of the plan remains little changed from its inception - the Treasury Department would have $700 billion at its disposal to purchase bad mortage-related securities that are weighing down the balance sheets of institutions that hold them. The flow of credit has slowed, in some cases drying up, threatening the ability of businesses to conduct routine operations or expand.

At the same time, lawmakers have dramatically changed the measure, insisting on greater congressional supervision over the $700 billion, taking measures to protect taxpayers, and insisting on steps to crack down on so-called "golden parachutes" that go to corporate executives whose companies fail.

Earlier in the week, the legislation was altered to expand the federal insurance program for individual bank deposits, and the Securities and Exchange Commission took steps to ease the impact of the questionable mortgage-backed securities on financial institutions.

LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES

All three House members representing Eastern Washington and North Idaho voted against the revised plan. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers says while she supports higher limits for FDIC insurance, she doesn't feel the proposal is a good deal for taxpayers.

SMALL TOWN REACTION

The question on everyone's minds in the of Priest River was what the big bailout means for small town America. KREM 2 News' Erik Hedlund talked to people there who said that they weren't big fans of the bailout. Some felt that the financial industry should be forced to deal with their accounting woes on their own. But, the most common sentiment was confusion: most of these people said they weren't really sure what the bailout would actually mean for them down the road.