Bush admin says seeks bulwark against housing woes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration's efforts to deal with the mortgage lending crisis are aimed at building a "bulwark" so the troubled sector's woes don't cause bigger problems in the U.S. economy, the White House said on Friday.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino would not discuss a possible deal with lenders to freeze interest rates on some loans but acknowledged that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was consulting with players in the market.

"The fundamentals of the economy remain strong but that doesn't mean that Secretary Paulson has wasted any time in making sure we have a bulwark" against the housing problems, Perino said.

"That is why he's having these negotiations," she added.

Pressed on whether the reported efforts to finalize a plan with the mortgage industry amounted to a bailout, Perino reiterated that Bush opposes taxpayer-funded rescues.

"The president has been clear that no taxpayer money should be used for any sort of bailout," she said.

(Reporting by Caren Bohan, editing by Neil Stempleman)