(AP Photo/Jin Lee, File)

CAPITOL HILL (AP) - Federal officials are defending their
actions to prevent the failure of Wall Street's Bear Stearns by
quickly arranging a sale to banking giant JP Morgan Chase. They say
say to have done anything else would have sent shockwaves through
the financial system.
At a hearing, Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee were
asking whether big investment banks were getting preferential
treatment compared to millions of Americans having trouble paying
their mortgages.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says if Bear had gone
bankrupt, it could have dealt serious consequences to the U.S.
economy and, ultimately, the American public.
Bernanke has testified on a panel that also included top
officials from the Treasury Department, the New York Fed and the
Securities and Exchange Commission.