Two days after the Senate passed the economic rescue bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) praised the House for following suit.

“This shows what we can get done when we work in a bipartisan way to address critical challenges. We needed to stop a bad economic situation from getting worse, and that is the purpose of this bill,” Reid said.

In a statement, McConnell said the House moved beyond partisan sniping that consumed the chamber earlier in the week to pass the bill to bolster the credit markets.

“Congress acted in the best interest of our Main Street economy by passing this economic stabilization package on a bipartisan basis to stabilize our economy and extend tax relief to American families and small business,” McConnell said.

After the House defeated the bill on Monday, Reid made a surprise move of announcing that the Senate would take a crack at the bill. The Senate added tax legislation that extended the renewable energy tax credits and provided a one-year relief from the alternative minimum tax. Reid said the bill he sent to the House was not an ideal package, but it was the best that he could come up with.

“This is not a perfect bill by any means, but it is much improved from the administration’s initial proposal. It will help instill confidence in and stabilize our economy, and will protect Main Street from the crisis on Wall Street,” Reid said.

A few House Members complained that the Senate had sent over a bill larded with special-interest provisions and that the chamber had no opportunity to amend the bill.