Paulson to brief House GOP on housing plan

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will attend the weekly meeting of the House Republican Conference Wednesday to explain and urge support for a new Bush administration plan to provide mortgage relief for millions of Americans.

Deputy Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said during a meeting with reporters Tuesday he was skeptical of giving the government the ability to regulate private industry but recognized something needed to be done to prevent an estimated 10 percent of the roughly 2 million Americans with sub-prime mortgage loans from losing their homes.

{mosads}“I’m anxious to hear what [Paulson] has to say,” Cantor said, adding that it was his understanding that Paulson is acting as an intermediary between the parties involved in the loan process rather than crafting the strategy within the Treasury Department.

House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam (Fla.) echoed Cantor’s remarks, saying the issue would be discussed at length during Wednesday’s meeting.

The administration’s plan would freeze interest rates for homeowners with financial difficulties and refinance them if necessary. This would temporarily protect homeowners in danger of foreclosure from interest rates that could rise from 7 percent to as much as 11 percent in 2008, according to reports.

Paulson unveiled the plan during a speech at a national housing forum Monday.