Reuters published a handy summary of Paulson's bail out proposal along with the counterproposals by Democrats :  read more »

• Would allow up to $700 billion in mortgage assets to be held by Treasury at any one time.
• Allows the Treasury to buy any mortgage-related assets, both residential and commercial, for a two-year period. The plan does not detail the types of mortgage assets this could cover and or how long the government could hold them, and does not establish how they would be valued. However, if deemed needed to promote financial market stability, any type of financial instrument could be bought.
• Assets must have been originated or issued before September 17, 2008, by a financial institution having "significant operations" in the United States. This provision could also be waived if deemed needed to promote financial stability.