Key US lawmakers said Thursday both parties in Congress had reached an agreement in principle on the 700 billion US dollar bailout plan in an effort to tide over the current financial crisis.

"We've reached a fundamental agreement on a set of principles,"Senator Christopher Dodd told reporters after a two-hour negotiating session.

The principles will give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson "the authority and funding he needs to act," said Dodd, the Senate's Banking Committee chairman.

"We've also dealt effectively, I think, with the issue of effective oversight, with home ownership preservation, as well as executive compensation," he added.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee also said few difficulties actually remained.

"There really isn't much of a deadlock to break," he told reporters.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2008)