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The plan would give the government broad power to buy the bad debt of any United States financial institutions for the next two years.

Speaking at the White House Saturday morning, the president said he decided to act boldly once he realized how bad the financial crisis was.

"It turns out there are a lot of inner links throughout the financial system," said Bush. "The system had grown to a point where a lot of people were dependent upon each other. And the collapse of one part of the system wouldn't just affect a part of the financial markets, it would affect the average citizen."

It's still unclear what the government would get in return from the companies it helps.

The White House and congressional leaders hope to get a bailout measure passed as early as next week. If approved, the bailout would be the most sweeping government financial intervention since the Great Depression.

Meanwhile, a bankruptcy judge approved a plan just after midnight Saturday under which Lehman Brothers will sell its investment banking and trading businesses to British bank Barclays.

The deal is said to be worth $1.35-$1.75 billion.

It comes just days after Lehman filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history, after Barclays decided not to buy the entire investment bank.