President Bush will address the nation tonight on the financial crisis, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said today. Bush will speak for about 12-14 minutes in remarks that will begin at 9 p.m. Perino characterized his address as an effort to speak directly to both average people and Congress.

“Everyone will tune in tonight because we are facing a once-in-a-century crisis in our financial markets,” Perino said.

Bush has been criticized in recent days for saying relatively little as the crisis has unfolded and as lawmakers rush to try to consider his proposals for fixing it.