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 (NYSE:WPO) 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.