Federal Lawmakers Debating Housing Crisis

Federal lawmakers are still trying to create a bill to address the housing slump, and Nashville Congressman Jim Cooper says there’s no easy solution.

“The problem is to find out the worthy recipients of federal help versus the unworthy. Because we don’t want to reward the speculators, we don’t want to reward the folks who are just in it for the money. We want to keep good, hardworking homeowners in their homes who were unfairly treated by predatory lenders. So how do we do that…it’s a very difficult task and we don’t have the right answer for it yet, but people are working very hard to find an answer fast.”

The Senate passed a housing aid bill last week that includes a 7-thousand dollar credit to anyone purchasing a home in foreclosure. The House is still working on its version. While democrats and republicans differ on what kind of help should be offered, there is some agreement that distressed borrowers should be able to refinance into a federally-backed 30-year mortgage.

Further down the road, Congress will likely take up issues related to changing regulations governing Wall Street banking institutions, many of which bought bundles of subprime mortgages that have since soured. Cooper says this debate will take months, and will probably not be addressed until the next congressional session.