Senate Negotiators and Banking Committee Agree on Aid for Those Facing Foreclosure

Today's Times has an article headlined "Senate Leaders Reach Deal on Housing Assistance."  Here's an excerpt:

Senate negotiators on Monday said they had reached a deal on legislation aimed at helping hundreds of thousands of homeowners in danger of foreclosure by expanding the availability of government-insured mortgages.

The Bush administration, which previously said it would oppose legislation to rescue troubled homeowners, suggested that it was willing to consider the Senate deal because lawmakers had found a way to eliminate any direct cost to taxpayers.

The Senate bill would create an affordable housing fund, financed by the government-sponsored mortgage-finance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and that fund would be used in its first year to provide about $500 million for the foreclosure rescue effort.

The Times web site reports here that the Senate Banking Committee approved the resulting bill today by a vote of 19 to 2.