FACTBOX: What has the government done to fix housing crisis?

(Reuters) - The Democratic-led House of Representatives on Thursday voted to authorize the government to finance distressed mortgages to steer 500,000 American homeowners away from foreclosure.

It was unclear whether Democrats in the Senate could muster enough support to pass a similar version of the bill, which President George W. Bush has threatened to veto.

The White House, Treasury Department, federal banking regulators and lawmakers have put forward a variety of plans during the past year to help homeowners with adjustable interest rate subprime mortgages who are facing foreclosure. The actions and proposed actions include the following:

HOUSE LEGISLATION

The broad package approved by the House would retool the Federal Housing Administration program to guarantee up to $300 billion in home loans when a property has declined in value. Lenders would have to erase a portion of the original loan to secure a government guarantee on future payments by a homeowner. It would also give first-time home buyers a tax credit of up to $7,500, let states issue $10 billion in tax-exempt bonds to refinance loans and create a tougher regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill could help as many as 500,000 homeowners and would cost the government an estimated $2.7 billion.

SENATE LEGISLATION

The Senate Banking Committee is expected to meet next week to draft a House companion bill.

In April, the Senate approved a $15 billion bill offering tax breaks for home builders and some assistance for distressed homeowners. The tax break allowing the industry to count current losses against taxes from prior profitable years was designed to placate the National Association of Home Builders, which halted all congressional campaign contributions when a similar tax break was dropped from an economic stimulus package approved by Congress last winter. The Senate bill also would authorize $10 billion more in revenue bonds for mortgage financing.