WASHINGTON — In the wake of criticisms by leaders of both parties in Congress that they were being shut out of the process, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox went to Capitol Hill last night to discuss plans for further government action to help the financial markets.

The plans discussed included a proposal to create a government entity to remove bad assets from the books of financial institutions and establishing a federal insurance for money market deposits. Politico reported today that Paulson and Bernanke told lawmakers last night that the efforts to save the financial markets could cost up to $1 trillion.

Paulson is scheduled to unveil plans at a 10:00 a.m. news conference. The new government entity, which could be modeled after the Resolution Trust Corporation which bought assets of failed savings and loans in the early 1990s, could represent the largest bailout in American history.