After casting his vote in favor of the $700 billion financial bailout measure, Congressman Edward Markey said Monday that the bill wasn't ideal but that something had to be done to protect American workers.

[img_assist|nid=70|title=U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Malden)|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=120|height=116]"Nobody wanted to be in this situation," the Malden Democrat said in a statement. "Nobody thought the bill before the House today was a perfect solution. But after careful consideration, I decided to support this bill because I believe that a failure to act now would not just punish Wall Street, but put hard-working Americans at risk of losing their homes, their jobs and their savings."

H.R. 3997 failed on to pass on Monday, 205 votes to 228 votes. Markey was one of 140 Democrats to vote in favor of the legislation, which fellow Bay State Congressman Barney Frank (D-Newton) had a large role in negotiating.

Markey said that the proposal that was voted on today was a significant improvement from the one originally offered by the Bush administration.

"Unlike the blank check that the Bush administration originally requested," Markey said, "the bill negotiated by Chairman Barney Frank protected taxpayers, prevented golden parachutes and limited excessive CEO compensation, helped prevent home foreclosures, and provided strong independent oversight and transparency."

The Democrat also stressed the importance of taking action quickly and blamed Republicans for blocking the bill's passage.

"Not just Main Street but the whole world is looking to us now," he said. "Our very system of capitalism is under assault. I hope we can come together to find a final solution. This bill failed today because a majority of Republican members voted against their leadership, against their own president, against their own Treasury Secretary and against their own Fed Chairman."