Our economy is in trouble. Mortgages are harder to get. Fewer car loans are being approved. Small businesses are struggling to find affordable credit. In Hawai'i, tourism numbers have plummeted and jobs have been lost.

Our state government recently delayed a bond sale, which would have raised money for important public functions, due to the poor market conditions.

Uncertainty and anxiety are understandably high.

When Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson testified before my colleagues and me on the Banking Committee last month, detailing how truly fragile the credit markets are, I knew we needed to act quickly.

In a country without credit, families would not be able to get mortgages and student loans. Local businesses would lack capital for operations and investments. State governments would be denied funding.

After much consideration, and hours of meetings and hearings with Bernanke, Paulson and others, I voted in favor of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which the Senate passed late Wednesday, and the House approved and the president signed on Friday.

I am convinced this legislation is necessary to protect access to credit and to stabilize our economy.

The American people understandably have little trust left for the Bush administration which has ruined so much in our country during the past eight years. The administration's disdain for regulation and accountability is partly to blame for this crisis.

Now we must take action.

We improved on the president's original proposal which asked for $700 billion with no strings attached. His proposal would have given all the power to the Treasury secretary, a perfect scenario for corruption and mismanagement. The American people rightly demanded accountability and oversight.

Working with my colleagues on the Banking Committee, we included provisions to prevent abuse, ensure proper management, reduce conflicts of interest and guarantee oversight. The Treasury secretary will now be required to report the details of any transaction to Congress, and the Government Accountability Office will conduct regular audits.

A special inspector general will be created in the Treasury Department, like the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction we created to stamp out corruption there.

We insisted that Congress be called on again to approve any funding after the initial $350 billion. And we added provisions ensuring that any profit realized would be returned to taxpayers and the federal treasury.

With these appropriate and necessary checks on the Treasury Secretary's authority, this legislation will be effective in providing relief to families, businesses and local governments in Hawai'i and across the country during these turbulent times.

After the bill was initially rejected by the House, the Senate added several provisions, most of which were directed at jump-starting the economy. We expanded the FDIC federal insurance program for individual bank deposits, so everyone will know their bank accounts are safe. We included funding for disasters like hurricanes and tsunamis to ensure our future safety. And we included targeted tax break extensions that will help thousands of working-class families avoid getting hit with the alternative minimum tax, provide incentives for energy conservation and renewable energy research, and provide tax breaks for small businesses.

While I don't agree with every single detail in the bill, the good far outweighs the bad.

This bill deals with the immediate emergency. It had to be done right away. I am thankful that Republicans and Democrats were able to come together to help our country through this emergency.

Our work is just beginning. This crisis was caused by eight years of greed on Wall Street and a White House opposed to oversight and accountability. We must reform the financial regulatory system to prevent future credit crises from occurring. The Banking Committee will be holding a series of hearings next year to develop regulatory reforms, because we must keep this from ever happening again.

This is not a perfect bill. It's expensive. However, it is absolutely necessary to protect access to credit, so working families can get mortgages and student loans, so businesses can pay their expenses and grow, and so state governments like Hawai'i's can finance improvements to roads, buildings and sewers and public lands. Our country needs it.

Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawai'i) wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.