The housing rescue plan in the Senate passed a panel vote today and now is moving forward to the whole Senate. If things work out there is hope that the bill will become law by July. Here is an excerpt from a recent Reuters story on it:
Both the Senate bill and a similar House bill call for creating a fund under the Federal Housing Administration to let thousands of distressed borrowers refinance into government-guaranteed loans.
The legislation would have the two government-sponsored enterprises cover a large share of the losses that the new fund is expected to absorb.
The committee passed the legislation on a vote of 19 to 2 after the top Democrat and Republican on the panel crafted a compromise that won broad bipartisan support.
Now, the legislation must pass the full Senate and then be reconciled with a similar plan that cleared the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month.
Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, chairman of the Senate panel, has said he hopes to see the mortgage rescue package reach President George W. Bush by July 4.
The White House had threatened to veto the House bill, but has said it will take a close look at the version that cleared the Senate committee.
“I don’t believe the president will veto this. I hope not,” Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the banking panel, told reporters after the vote.