The Senate voted late Wednesday 74 to 25 in favor of the bill, called the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which does not differ vastly from the initial proposal but introduces a host of new measures, including a clause to raise the government's guarantee on savings from $100,000 to $250,000.
President George Bush praised the approval of the bill by Senate and expressed hope that the House of Representatives would do the same. The House is likely to vote on a new version of the bill on Friday.
"The bill the Senate passed is essential to the financial security of every American," Bush said.
The bill was supported by Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama, his rival, Republican John McCain, and Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, who all attended the Senate vote.
Bush earlier warned of "painful and lasting" consequences for the country's economy in the event of Congress failing to agree on a rescue plan. It is hoped that the "Yes" vote in the Senate will give the bill momentum to help it through the House.
The House of Representatives' rejection of the bailout plan Monday sent the stock market into a steep decline and pushed down oil prices.
The bill, originally devised by the Bush administration and altered by Democrat and Republican congressional leaders, was rejected on Monday by a 228-205 vote. Some two-thirds of Republican lawmakers refused to support the rescue package. They were joined by 95 Democrats.
The economic stabilization plan, the largest in the country's history, was intended to give the U.S. administration powers to buy devalued mortgage-related assets held by struggling financial companies and banks.
The plan, designed to prevent the current crisis from spreading to the entire U.S. economy, was designed after a wave of defaults among U.S. financial institutions, including the failure of investment bank Lehman Brothers and the Washington Mutual bank, and the government's $85 billion bailout of insurance giant AIG.
