We could finally see some real action on the bailout package Wednesday.

The Senate plans to vote on the $700 billion bank rescue plan Wednesday evening in an effort to restore investor confidence. Talking heads on the cable news channels Wednesday morning are saying that government officials didn’t present the plan well to the American people or Congress, and that more people are now realizing it’s not a “Wall Street bailout” but more of a “Main Street bailout,” since the failure to do anything will ultimately hurt all Americans – whether it be in companies not able to execute payroll, to getting credit to buy a car, to seeing their retirement funds go up in smoke.

The Senate bill adds new provisions — including raising the FDIC insurance cap to $250,000 from $100,000 — and will be attached to an existing revenue bill that the House also rejected Monday, several Democratic leadership aides told CNN.

The vote is scheduled for around 7:30 PM ET. Presidential contenders Sens. John McCain, R-AZ, and Barack Obama, D-IL, and his running mate Sen. Joe Biden, D-DE, plan on participating in the vote.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the administration welcomes the "modified bill" and the scheduled vote.

Democratic sources told CNN that they expect bipartisan support.

The Wall Street Journal reports that congressional leaders expect the vote could build momentum for passage of the bill in the House, which shockingly failed to pass the $700 billion package on Monday.

Congress is also considering changing an accounting rule known as "mark to market" that some blame for the financial system’s spastic nature of late. The legislation would back up the Securities and Exchange Commission, which Tuesday gave companies more leeway to figure out the value of assets for which there are no buyers. Other possible additions to the bill include jobless benefits and homeowner tax breaks, the Journal says.

The Washington Post says the package also will include caps for bank and credit union accounts, extensions of numerous business tax breaks that have expired and a fix to the alternative minimum tax for individual taxpayers.

The FDIC and tax provisions could make the bill more appealing to House Republicans, but there’s a group of conservative Democrats who might not like them.

But the ultimate hope is the Senate move will push the House to do something fast.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-MD, and Rep. Roy Blunt also said Wednesday they’re confident prospects for passing the bill in the House have improved.

"I think the Senate thinks it has the votes and I think it probably will pass,” Hoyer said on NBC’s “Today Show.”

Even foreign policymakers are urging Congress to get moving.

Reuters reports that European and Russian lawmakers say the U.S. has a responsibility to pass a plan for the good of the global markets, since it was Wall Street’s troubles that poisoned other markets.

"It has to go, for the sake of the U.S. and for the sake of global finance," said European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.
"I think (U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry) Paulson’s plan is essential," added Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin. "It is the responsibility of the United States to other countries."

Voters Pounce

House and Senate offices have been bombarded with calls from voters who don’t want Congress to bail out Wall Street and bankers behaving badly. But after Monday’s failed House vote, calls were pushing lawmakers to do something – anything.

Aides to Rep. Mike Pence, R-IN, said calls coming into his office were mostly from voters thanking him for opposing the original bailout plan, but they said Congress still needed to act somehow.

"It’s completely in the other direction now," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-OH.

CNN.com reports that the servers hosting House websites were overwhelmed with the e-mails, forcing administrators to implement the "digital version of a traffic cop" to handle the overload.

"This is unprecedented," said Jeff Ventura, communications director for the House’s chief administrator.

The deluge of e-mails and page views began after it was announced Sunday that a deal had been reached. Legislators said the public could view the agreement at financialservices.house.gov.

Ventura compared the situation to the "old days, when you listened to a radio show and the 10th caller got a toaster. Then everyone calls the same 1-800 number at the same time and all you got was a busy signal."

This was a massive digital busy signal," he said.