Washington - US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the architect of a 700-billion-dollar rescue plan that failed in Congress Monday, warned that the federal government does not have the means to address the massive financial crisis arresting the US economy.

Paulson said he was "very disappointed" in the House of Representatives rejection Monday. He promised to continue working with congressional leaders to find some kind of compromise "as soon as possible."

"We've got too much work to do and this is much too important to simply let fail," Paulson said.

Financial markets around the world were going through "significant turmoil," Paulson said. The Treasury and Federal Reserve were doing everything they could to keep the financial system afloat and inject liquidity into the banking sector.

"Our tool kit is substantial, but insufficient," Paulson told reporters at the White House.

Paulson drafted the original bill, which involves the government buying up 700 billion dollars in troubled mortgage-backed securities in order to unfreeze credit availability that is the cornerstone of the US economy.

Congressional leaders worked with Paulson and other government officials over the last nine days on a compromise, and thought they had reached one by Sunday. Leaders from both parties supported the bill, but it failed nonetheless. (dpa)