Dems foreclosure plan: hold a press conference

Hoping to create the impression that they are united in their approach to combating the rising tide of foreclosures, Democratic leaders held what might be described as a dog-and-pony show for the press today on Capitol Hill.

At the press conference, the Dems said Fannie and Freddie should be granted more leeway to buy up mortgage loans in the secondary market, that more money should be provided for housing counselors, and that the President should appoint a mortgage "czar" to coordinate the government's response to the crisis (see Inman News story).

Sound like a plan? Problem is, while the Democrats say they want to raise the limits on Fannie and Freddie's loan portfolios, they don't seem to have agreed on how much. The plan unveiled today also avoided the issue of whether to raise the $417,000 conforming loan limit, as some have advocated.

Democrats in both the House and Senate have already introduced many bills (in some cases, competing bills) that would raise the caps on Fannie and Freddie's portfolios, boost the conforming loan limit, expand FHA loan guarantee programs, and provide money for more housing counseling. They just haven't been able to get any of them to the President's desk.

That left the door open for Alabama Republican Sen. Richard Shelby to comment that the only thing new in the Democrats' "plan" was a proposal to create a mortgage czar (And if you think executive branch "czars" have any influence or power, answer this: Who is John P. Walters?).

New York Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer introduced a bill on Sept. 10 that would raise Fannie and Freddie's portfolio caps by 10 percent, and also boost the conforming loan limit in high-cost areas to $626,000 (or the median home price if that's less).

Democratic leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, didn't get behind Schumer's bill today, and they didn't unveil any new legislation of their own. To a family facing foreclosure, all the criticism the Dems directed today at the Bush administration's alleged inaction might have sounded a bit like empty rhetoric.

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