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US Senate approves housing bill | US Senate approves housing bill |
(30 minutes later) | |
The US Senate has approved a rescue bill designed to prop up America's battered housing market. | The US Senate has approved a rescue bill designed to prop up America's battered housing market. |
The new law creates a $300bn (£150bn) rescue fund to help thousands of homeowners get cheaper loans. | |
It may also be used to bail out the struggling mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which own or guarantee around half the nation's mortgage debt. | |
The bill has been approved in a very short time. President George Bush is expected to sign it into law next week. | The bill has been approved in a very short time. President George Bush is expected to sign it into law next week. |
The BBC's Jack Izzard in Washington says the bill will help hundreds of thousands of Americans trapped by mortgages they can no longer afford. | The BBC's Jack Izzard in Washington says the bill will help hundreds of thousands of Americans trapped by mortgages they can no longer afford. |
They will be offered the chance to refinance with state-backed, fixed rate loans. | They will be offered the chance to refinance with state-backed, fixed rate loans. |
Boom and bust | |
The housing crisis is causing serious problems for the wider US economy. | |
Almost 740,000 US homes entered the foreclosure process in the second quarter of 2008, according to research firm RealtyTrac. | |
The worst-hit areas were Nevada, California, Florida and Arizona, which had seen the biggest house price rises during the boom years, and the largest volume of sub-prime lending. | |
The bill's Republican critics say it will cost US taxpayers billions, and query the wisdom of bailing out irresponsible homeowners or unscrupulous lenders. | The bill's Republican critics say it will cost US taxpayers billions, and query the wisdom of bailing out irresponsible homeowners or unscrupulous lenders. |
President Bush had initially threatened to veto the bill over a provision for $3.9bn (£1.95bn) in community grants to buy up and repair repossessed homes. |