Senate Slogs Through Housing Bill

Leading senators think they have made a bipartisan breakthrough on legislation aimed at the mortgage crisis. A parallel effort in the House met with Republican opposition, and it’s not entirely clear where President Bush and his veto pen stand on the matter.

New York Times:

Senate committee leaders from both parties said on Monday that they had reached agreement on legislation to help more homeowners keep their houses and untangle some of the regulatory thickets that have contributed to the current mess.

The agreement, which seems to improve the prospects for a comprehensive housing bill emerging from the full Congress, was announced by Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the Democratic chairman and ranking Republican, respectively, on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

Initial details were sketchy, although likely to be revealed soon, since the senators said the committee would consider the legislation on Tuesday. The agreement would provide tighter regulation of the government-sponsored lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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