Congress completed work today Saturday on the government's most sweeping response yet to the nation's housing crisis, sending to President Bush a bill designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, spur home buying and prop up struggling mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Senate, in a rare weekend session, overwhelmingly approved the measure, 72-13, a reflection of the election-year jitters on Capitol Hill over the troubled economy.
Bush has said he will sign the bill, which the House approved earlier in the week, 272-152.
"Today, Congress did more than send a bill to the president -- we sent a message to American families that help is on the way," said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), who helped write the legislation.
"In addition to providing urgently needed relief to homeowners on the brink of losing their homes, this legislation will address our broader economic problems by helping to reform our housing sector and provide reassurances to our financial markets."
The measure's critics attacked it as a bailout of speculators and irresponsible borrowers at potentially huge cost to taxpayers.
"This bill is fraught with too much risk and too little protection to the taxpayer," said Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.), contending it would allow lenders to "dump their worst subprime mortgages" on the Federal Housing Administration.
All the votes opposing the legislation were cast by Republicans.
Democrats who control Congress are looking at other proposals aimed at turning around the economy. These include debating in September a second election-year economic stimulus package that would provide $50 billion or more for bridge and road projects, home-heating assistance and other matters.
The bill passed today Saturday, the "American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act," contains a key provision that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to guarantee up to $300 billion in lower-cost mortgages -- provided that lenders accept significant losses.
The provision is expected to help at least 400,000 homeowners.
The bill would give the Treasury Department authority to temporarily increase its lending to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and buy their stock, a provision that Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson has called crucial to bolstering confidence in the companies and stabilizing housing finance markets.
