The Senate cleared the last hurdle Friday to passing a housing rescue aimed at sparing hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure and bolstering troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The 80-13 test vote showed broad support for the election-year package and put it on track to pass the Senate by Saturday. The White House says President Bush will sign it, having earlier dropped a threat to veto it over $3.9 billion in neighborhood grants.
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The plan gives the Treasury Department power to spend unlimited amounts to prop up Fannie and Freddie, should they need it, to calm investor fears about their financial stability at a time of rising foreclosures and falling home values. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson calls the authority a "backstop" which he has no intention of using.
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