FACTBOX - Scenarios for US financial bailout

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stunned by the U.S. House of Representatives' rejection of his $700 billion (388 billion pound) plan to buy failing bank assets, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson hit the phones on Tuesday to try to resurrect it.

With global markets hanging in the balance, President George W. Bush also vowed to keep pushing for a solution to unclog credit markets and warned of "painful and lasting" economic damage if Congress failed to act.

With the entire House up for reelection on November 4, many Democrats and Republicans in close races voted against the bill after e-mails and calls from constituents angry at the idea of bailing out Wall Street at taxpayer expense.

Below are some actions the Bush administration and Congress could take to try to secure passage of the bill, along with options the Treasury, Federal Reserve and other agencies could turn to calm markets if the plan cannot be resurrected.

RESURRECTING $700 BILLION ASSET PURCHASE FUND

* Senate leaders who support the plan could begin to debate it early on Wednesday when members return after the Jewish new year holiday. This could put additional pressure on the House to do the same. House lawmakers return on Thursday.

* Treasury could tweak the existing plan to draw in more lawmakers from one of the parties. Because bipartisan backing is sought, that would likely mean aiming for more Republican votes. While a minority in the House, some two-thirds of Republicans voted against the bill. A top White House adviser said on Tuesday the administration hoped small changes could garner enough votes for passage.

* Lawmakers could scrap the core of Paulson's federally funded asset rescue plan in favour of a bill that relies on privately funded mortgage insurance, but that is seen as unlikely. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said a move to start over from scratch would not succeed and the administration has signalled opposition to relying solely on mortgage insurance, as some House Republicans had wanted.

* Obama and Republican presidential nominee John McCain both proposed increasing the amount of deposits eligible for federal deposit insurance to $250,000 from $100,000 as a way to broaden support for the bill. Obama said the move would help small businesses and help restore confidence in the financial system, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp asked that the limit be raised.