FACTBOX: Clinton proposals to curb housing crisis

Mon Mar 24, 2008 12:18pm EDT
 
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(Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton proposed measures on Monday to stem the U.S. housing crisis.

Here are the key aspects of the New York senator's plan:

RESTRUCTURING HELP

Clinton backed an expansion of the Federal Housing Administration's capacity to guarantee restructured mortgages, in line with legislation proposed by Democrats Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut.

She said the government should be ready, however, to be proactive in purchasing, restructuring and reselling "underwater mortgages."

FORECLOSURES WORKING GROUP

Clinton proposed that President George W. Bush form an emergency working group on foreclosures to study how to establish "broad restructuring" of at-risk mortgages.

She said the group could be headed by a bipartisan group of economic leaders such as former Federal Reserve chairmen Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin.

LEGAL PROTECTION FOR MORTGAGE SERVICERS

Clinton said she would introduce legislation to provide legal protection for mortgage servicers who help struggling homeowners to modify their mortgages.

She said many servicers decline to help families because of fear of litigation.

HOUSING STIMULUS PACKAGE

Clinton called for a second stimulus package with a $30 billion fund to put cash in the hands of local governments and nonprofit organizations to buy and resell properties to low-income people or turn them into affordable rental housing units.

That would follow the $168 billion stimulus package passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by Bush, which Clinton said did virtually nothing to address the housing crisis.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Xavier Briand)

 

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