Congress has rejected Hank Paulson’s $700 billion bailout package, proving that at least some of them may be worth their paychecks. The preliminary ballot saw the bill defeated 228 to 205.

The death of the bill has sent US stocks into near meltdown.

As the vote was relayed live, traders rushed to sell equities. The Dow Jones (DJI) plunged over 400 points in a matter of minutes. At its lowest point, the index fell 700 points. The Nasdaq  and S&P 500 both shed over 6% to hit multi-year lows.

According to The New York Times:

Supporters of the bill had argued that it was necessary to avoid a collapse of the economic system, a calamity that would drag down not just Wall Street investment houses but possibly the savings and portfolios of millions of Americans. Opponents said the bill was cobbled together in too much haste and might amount to throwing good money from taxpayers after bad investments from Wall Street gamblers.

One Republican congressman, Darrell Issa, said he was “resolute” in his opposition to the measure because it would betray party principles and amount to “a coffin on top of Ronald Reagan’s coffin.”