US Congress approves wide-ranging housing rescue bill, no Bush veto

U.S. Congress approves wide-ranging housing rescue bill

www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-27 05:26:34

WASHINGTON, July 26 (Xinhua) --

The U.S. Congress approved on Saturday a wide-ranging housing rescue bill that will offer up to 300 billion U.S. dollars in assistance to troubled mortgage giants and homeowners.

The bill, passed by 72 votes to 13 during a rare weekend session in the Senate, now will go to President George W. Bush, who is expected to sign the measure quickly.

The bill won approval in the House on Wednesday by 272 votes to152.

Under a provision put into the bill, Fannie and Freddie could draw on a temporary line of U.S. Treasury credit or the government could buy shares in them if necessary. The bill also contains a tax break of as much as 7,500 dollars for first-time home buyers, creates a new regulator to oversee Fannie and Freddie.

It will also establish a 300-billion dollar fund under the Federal Housing Administration to help distressed homeowners get more affordable, government-backed mortgages. An estimated 400,000families could be helped by the program.

Both presidential hopeful Barack Obama and John McCain hailed the Senate's passage of the housing bill.

The bill was "urgently needed" and represented "an important start to protecting homeowners and restoring stability to our housing market and our economy," Obama said in a statement.

McCain said he believes that relief for struggling homeowners is overdue, noting he applauds the passage of this legislation and urges the president to sign it quickly.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson praised the approval.

"It is of the utmost importance to our market and economic stability that the GSE (government-sponsored enterprise) portions of this bill become law," he said. "These components are orders of magnitude more important to turning the corner on the housing correction."

White House: Bush not to veto housing rescue bill

www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-23 23:14:16

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Xinhua) --

President George W. Bush will not veto the housing rescue bill that offer up to 300 billion dollars in assistance to troubled mortgage giants and homeowners, the White House said on Wednesday.

"We believe this is not the time for a prolonged veto fight but we are confident the president would prevail in one," said White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino.

The bill, which won the support Tuesday night from key senators in both parties, will give the government the power to help troubled homeowners get new, cheaper loans and to offer besieged mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a cash infusion.

The House was expected to vote on the bill late Wednesday, and it could then go back to the Senate for a final vote and become law as early as this week.

However, the White House has voiced its objections to the 3.9 billion dollar provision in the bill, saying that it was aimed at helping bankers and lenders, not homeowners who are in trouble.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also complained that the provision is "wasteful", but noting he has urged President Bush to drop his veto threat over this provision because of the other important elements in the bill.

"This is a very important message that we are sending to investors around the world," he told reporters, saying the bill would play a key role in turning the corner on the housing crisis.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

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