Senate Agrees Housing Package Deal

Senate leaders have agreed upon a rescue plan for the two largest mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The deal would allow the government to insure up to $300 billion in refinanced mortgages.

The rescue could end up costing taxpayers around $25 billion.

"The package we have got is fully acceptable to Treasury," along with lawmakers in the Senate, said Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. "Nobody is for everything that's in it or got everything in it he wanted, but we negotiated a lot with the Treasury and the Senate."

The House is expected to vote later today on a housing measure that would give the Treasury Department authority to throw the companies a temporary lifeline.

Henry Paulson, Treasury Secretary said on Tuesday that the stability of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was key to erasing uncertainty within the U.S financial markets.