President Bush has dropped his threat to veto a $300 billion housing bill that would assist mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and help troubled homeowners, CNNMoney.com reported.

The House is expected to pass the measure later today and then send it to the Senate for a final vote.

The bill would allow the Treasury Department to offer Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac unlimited lines of credit and give the department the authority to buy stock in the companies if necessary for the next 18 months.

The Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday that it estimated the potential costs of a rescue of the two companies to be somewhere around $25 billion. It also said that there is a 5 percent chance that companies’ losses could cost the government $100 billion.

The bill also aims to help homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure. According to S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, more than 340,000 people have had their homes repossessed by banks during the first six months of the year, up 136 percent from the same period in 2007. In addition, the number of homeowners who have been delinquent on their mortgage payments has increased 56 percent from last year to 1.4 million.

“The positive aspects of the bill are needed now to increase confidence and stability in the housing and financial markets,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.