Plan Lacks Detail -US Senate Bank Panel Chair Dodd

`This proposal is stunning and unprecedented in its scope and lack of detail,` said Christopher Dodd.

The U.S. Treasury's plan to buy as much as $700 billion in damaged investments to jump-start global credit markets has not been properly explained, a leading U.S. lawmaker said on Tuesday.

"This proposal is stunning and unprecedented in its scope and lack of detail," said Christopher Dodd, chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are testifying before the panel to explain their sweeping plan to restore order to financial markets.

In recent months, a collapse of the housing market has sent waves through financial markets that held securities made up of bad home loans. The plan conceived by Paulson and Bernanke would give policymakers broad authority to buy those shaky securities to restore confidence in the market.

"In my view, any plan to address this crisis must embody three principles. First, American taxpayers must have some assurance that their hard-earned money is being used correctly and responsibly," Dodd said. "Second, we must put in place proper oversight so that the executors of this plan are accountable and their actions transparent."

Finally, Dodd said, lawmakers must give additional aid to troubled homeowners who are facing foreclosure which is at the root of the current crisis.