Housing Bill Clears Key Hurdle In Senate

A massive housing bill cleared another key procedural hurdle in the Senate Friday morning, keeping it on track to head to the president's desk this weekend.

A vote to take up the bill sailed through the Senate 80-13, indicating there was broad support for the package. 

President Bush has dropped his veto threat of the bill and indicated he will sign the measure which will spare hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure and bolster troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 

The House passed the measure on Thursday afternoon.

While Democratic senators welcomed the vote, they couldn't resist a few parting shots at their Republican colleagues. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the bill should have been passed "three or four months earlier," and chastised President Bush and congressional Republicans for only agreeing to act after the housing crisis threatened to spiral out of control

Many Democrats also had plenty of strong words for Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, who raised procedural objections to the bill in order to force a vote on an amendment he wanted to include in the package, delaying final passage of the bill until Saturday afternoon.

"This is a national crisis," said Senate Majority Whip Richard J, Durbin. "This crisis goes beyond one senator's objections."

DeMint has been pushing for an amendment to ban Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from being able to lobby the government.