Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said the bailout package would be presented to Treasury Department officials and party caucuses to "go over these principles which we've agreed on among ourselves."

While saying Democratic and Republican leaders "reached a fundamental agreement" on principles, Dodd would not reveal the details during a news conference after a bicameral, bipartisan meeting.

Speaking broadly, he said the bicameral group agreed to give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson the authority and the funding he said he would need.

"We also have dealt, I think, effectively with the issue of effective oversight, with home ownership preservation, as well as executive compensation," Dodd said.

Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, a member the budget panel, called meeting productive.

"And the most encouraging thing that comes out of it ... is that I now expect we will, indeed, have a plan that can pass the House, pass the Senate, be signed by the president, and bring a sense of certainty to this crisis that is still roiling in the market," Bennett said.

Also present during the news conference were Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and the committee's ranking minority member, Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala.