In the wake of financial turmoil on Wall Street and Capitol Hill, OU President David L. Boren decided to speak up and urge legislators to support a $700 billion bailout bill making its way through Congress.

Boren joined 15 other Oklahoma leaders in support of the bill Wednesday and sent a personal e-mail to three Oklahoma representatives who voted against the bill. Boren said he supports the bill because it could stabilize the economy and keep the U.S. from slipping into a depression.

Boren could get what he wants by the end of the week.

“If I had to guess, I’d guess both [houses will] pass the bill by the end of the week,” he said. The U.S. Senate passed the bailout bill Wednesday by a vote of 74 to 25. The bill will come before the House of Representatives for a second time Friday.

Boren said he hopes representatives don’t just sit on their hands and refuse to pass the bailout package.

“Doing nothing is Russian Roulette,” he said.

Oklahoma representatives Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne and John Sullivan, R-Tulsa, voted against Monday’s version of the bill. They said constituent feedback compelled them to vote “no” for the plan President George W. Bush had urged representatives to pass quickly.

“I am concerned about the current state of our financial system,” Lucas said in a press release. “However, the constituents of the Third Congressional District spoke loud and clear over the last week in opposition to the proposed rescue plan, and I am here to represent their voice in Congress.”

Sullivan also said he was most worried about his constituents’ views.

In a press release Tuesday, he said he understands the importance of the situation and hopes for bipartisanship, but voting against the measure was the only way to register the concerns of his constituents.

“I am willing to support government intervention so long as the interests of the taxpayers are completely protected,” Sullivan said.

Boren said the representatives’ constituents shouldn’t let anger at investment bankers keep them from supporting the bailout.

“I’m angry too, ultimately those people need to be held accountable,” Boren said. But, “It isn’t about them [those on Wall Street], and if we lash out, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot.”

A punishment for Wall Street would be a punishment for Main Street, Boren said. Middle-class Americans could face a rising unemployment rate and continued recession.

Boren hopes legislators will come to a bipartisan solution to the crisis.

“It’s awful to see parties pointing fingers of blame,” he said. He acknowledged that the bailout is less than ideal but said that shouldn’t stop Congress from taking action.

“In 28 years in elected office, I never saw a perfect bill,” Boren said.

Boren thinks the United States is facing its most serious economic situation since the Great Depression but believes the nation can recover.

“I don’t think we should panic,” he said. “Just act intelligently. There’s still time.”