WRAPUP 1-McCain outlines plan to ease U.S. housing crisis

By Jeff Mason

NEW YORK, April 10 (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain outlined plans on Thursday to ease the burden on struggling American homeowners, drawing fire from Democratic rivals who accused him of a half-hearted effort.

McCain, an Arizona senator who has clinched his party's presidential nomination for the November election, proposed a system that would allow homeowners with a high-interest, adjustable rate mortgage loan taken after 2005 to trade for a safer, 30-year loan.

"It offers every deserving American family or homeowner the opportunity to trade a burdensome mortgage for a manageable loan that reflects the market value of their home," McCain said in a speech on the economy in Brooklyn.

"My plan follows the sound economic principle that when markets decline dramatically, debts must be restructured."

Political pressure is building for a dramatic government intervention to prop up a housing market that has pushed the U.S. economy to the brink of recession, if not into one, threatening global growth.

McCain has faced criticism from Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton over what they called a soft approach to the U.S. economy, picking up on attacks on McCain from his one-time Republican adversary, Mitt Romney, that the Arizona senator does not understand the economy.

The Democratic presidential rivals, quickly pounced on McCain's proposals, calling them inadequate. Obama said McCain's plans were much like President George W. Bush's -- "sitting by and hoping it passes while families face foreclosure and watch the value of their homes erode."

"I'm glad he's finally decided to offer a plan. Better late than never," the Illinois senator said in Gary, Indiana. "But don't expect any real answers. Don't expect it to actually help struggling families."