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Congress has done little to ease mortgage mess

By MARILYN GEEWAX The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 01/06/08:

Here are the major bills pending:

* Federal Housing Finance Reform. The House voted 313-104 in May to strengthen oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, quasi-governmental companies that buy mortgages from banks and bundle them into tradable securities. The Senate has not yet taken action.

* Expanding American Homeownership Act. The House voted 348-72 in September to give the Federal Housing Administration more flexibility to help financially struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages. In December, the Senate voted 93-1 in favor of its version of the bill, called the FHA Modernization Act. But the bills differ significantly, so House and Senate leaders will have to reconcile the competing versions to come up with final legislation.

* National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act. The House voted 264-148 in October to establish a trust fund to build or preserve 1.5 million low-cost homes and apartments over 10 years, using fees paid by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Senate has not yet acted, and President Bush has threatened a veto.

* Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act. The House voted 291-127 in November in favor of legislation to license mortgage originators and prohibit brokers from steering prime borrowers to more expensive subprime loans. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) last month introduced a similar bill, the Homeownership and Preservation Act, and is expected to get it moving early in the year.