Housing bill passed by U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON, July 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate used a rare weekend session Saturday to pass a landmark housing bill meant to mitigate the ongoing mortgage crisis.

The Washington Post said the bill, which offers up to $300 billion in loan guarantees for consumers saddled with subprime, adjustable-rate mortgages, was passed by a Senate vote of 72 to 13.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., a strong supporter of the legislation, said while imperfect, the bill would help the nearly 1.5 million families facing foreclosure nationwide.

"Behind every one of those statistics is an American family," Dodd said.

Dodd, who is chairman of the banking committee, unveiled the initial draft of the legislation in March along with Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.

The measure passed the House of Representatives Wednesday and now is poised to go to the White House for President George Bush's signature.

The bill would allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure up to $300 billion in new 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages for at-risk borrowers if their lenders agree to write down loan balances to 90 percent of the homes' current appraised values. It also would establish a stronger regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, CNN said.