The U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee passed the bill on a voice vote.

"Bipartisan support again helped us move this legislation out of the committee," U.S. Sen. Dan Akaka, D-Hawai'i, said today.

The U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which includes Akaka and U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, also approved the bill on a voice vote in May.

But it is uncertain if the bill will come to the Senate floor before the end of the year. The Native Hawaiian housing program's authorization expired in 2005. Funding has been maintained on a year-to-year basis.

The housing bill would reauthorize the program's funding for five years. It would ensure that the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands continues to receive $8 million to $9 million annually for roads, water lines, sewer systems and other infrastructure for housing projects developed for those of at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood.

The bill also would guarantee loans for building, rehabilitating and refinancing single or multifamily homes.

Akaka said studies show Native Hawaiians experience the highest rates of overcrowding and homelessness throughout the Hawaiian islands.

And Inouye said Native Hawaiian communities face a crisis in housing.

"Far too many of our state's first citizens are in need of adequate housing," he said. "This important bill will allow us to continue efforts to assist the native people of Hawai'i in securing better housing opportunities."

The House approved the housing bill in March on a 272-150 vote, even though many Republican lawmakers opposed it.