President Bush doesn’t have to worry about his popularity any more so opposing the Democrat-led plan in congress to help homeowners avoid foreclosure is no problem for him no matter how many Americans it alienates. Not so for House republicans who would like to be re-elected in 2008. More of them are getting on board with the bill going through congress sponsored by Barney Frank. Here are some excerpts from a recent AP article on the subject:
The Democrats’ housing rescue plan is picking up converts among Republicans who are shrugging off White House objections after getting an earful from voters struggling to stave off foreclosure.
The GOP support is coming from regions hardest-hit by the housing crisis, a sign that battle lines over how to address the mortgage meltdown are more geographic than partisan.
Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, an Ohio Republican, says housing officials in his area have warned him that “a ton” of his constituents have adjustable-rate mortgages that will reset to unaffordable rates this year or next.
Lawmakers who fail to work together on a solution will do so “at their peril,” said LaTourette, who is backing Democrat Barney Frank’s plan.
“This has the ability to keep people in their houses,” said LaTourette, a seventh-term congressman who is facing a competitive re-election race.
As for President Bush’s opposition, he says Bush and his team are “just not thinking clearly on this.”
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The vast majority of Republicans still side with Bush, whose top housing officials have said the plan would open the government to excessive risk. The administration backs a far narrower program that would loosen FHA standards but would be limited to borrowers with good credit, less debt and a history of making timely payments. That plan wouldn’t force lenders to take big losses on the distressed mortgages.
But Frank, known for reaching across party lines, has been working intensely to draw GOP support for his plan. His efforts appear to be paying off as the House heads toward a likely vote on the bill next week.
Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif., apologized profusely to Republicans on the Financial Services panel for his decision to break with them and support Frank’s bill.
“Politics is being set aside on my part. I’m a conservative. I really wish I could support my Republican colleagues on this,” Miller said as the committee began work on the measure last week. But he added, “I’m very concerned about the marketplace. I’m concerned about the economy. … People are suffering in this country.”
Aside from having the second-highest foreclosure rates, his state of California has some of the highest housing prices in the country. Miller wants Congress to raise loan limits for the FHA and for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored financiers and guarantors, to bring down interest rates on larger mortgages.
Frank has said the final housing package will include such steps.
Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla., whose state is in the top five in the nation for foreclosures, has signed on as a co-sponsor of the measure.
“I go home every weekend. I see people (and) our office helps people who are having problems with foreclosures, and I think it’s a responsible approach,” Brown-Waite said.
In better economic times, Brown-Waite said, she would be more reticent to embrace government intervention, but, “When you look at the number of foreclosures in Florida alone and in other states, the role of government certainly isn’t to bail them out, but to give them a helping hand.”
