Christopher Dodd News

The debate in Washington over the mortgage crisis is shifting from assistance for financial operations to steps for helping homeowners, analysts said Monday. via The Post Chronicle

“The heart of this economic problem is the foreclosure problem”

Democratic lawmakers said Sunday that Congress should pass a second economic aid plan that would focus on helping homeowners avoid foreclosure and increasing spending on bridges, roads and transit systems. via Newsday.com

“If capital does not flow, all we'll be doing for the coming months is providing more money to cities and towns or relief for people who have lost their homes”

The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee is planning to push for even more aid to homeowners next week as the Senate takes up a bipartisan package hammered out this week by Senate leaders to help out the ... via MarketWatch

“With veto threats on the bankruptcy provisions, the majority leadership had to decide: Do they want to make a political statement or do they want to enact a law?”

It took the Federal Reserve just 96 hours to react to the collapse of investment bank Bear Stearns. It's that rescue on Wall Street that's driving momentum on Capitol Hill for quick relief for the housing crisis on Main Street.

Senators got an earful from constituents over a two-week break, especially the disconnect between the Fed's $29 billion plan to facilitate the sale of Bear Stearns and the lack of meaningful relief for financially stressed homeowners. Within hours of a return to Washington, Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle put a stalled housing relief bill on the fast track, dropping cherished positions to do so. Read more

“I would call this a wild pitch. ... It's not even close to the strike zone”

The Democratic chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Monday called the Treasury Department's plan to overhaul financial regulation "a wild pitch" that fails to address the housing market crisis. via Boston.com

The U.S. housing secretary announced his resignation on Monday amid investigations into his role in government contracts, creating a vacuum at an agency seen as a vehicle for addressing the housing crisis. via Boston.com

“I see great danger in immunity. It replaces the rule of law with the rule of secrecy.”

Should telecommunications companies that complied with warrantless requests from the Bush administration for information about their customers be granted exemption from prosecution? The White House says the ... via Fairfield Citizen-News

“We need to forge an agenda together on these issues”

Last week, the Federal Reserve extended a $30 billion line of credit to save investment bank Bear Stearns from bankruptcy and allow JP Morgan Chase, another financial giant, to scoop it up at a rock-bottom ... via Women's eNews

“Americans are being asked to back a brand-new kind of transaction, to the tune of tens of billions of dollars”

Bear Stearns shareholders aren't the only ones questioning the bargain-basement buyout of the investment bank. via Whittier Daily News

“This obligation will continue until the borrower sells the home or refinances the FHA-insured mortgage.”

By Patrick Rucker Reuters Wednesday, March 26, 2008; 4:00 PM WASHINGTON - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have to meet new goals to invest in troubled loans and erase some mortgage debt for borrowers facing ... via Washington Post

Contributed by Michael Freeman - Posted: March 24, 2008 2:02:53 PM Generally speaking, I'm usually a strong advocate of our free market economy and cautious of government efforts to control, regulate or tinker ... via The Ledger

“This administration appears to be ready to do what it needs to address this crisis”

Washington lawmakers are looking for answers to help troubled homeowners now that the U.S. Federal Reserve has moved to help troubled banks. via Daily India

“We feel that is the best thing to be doing. It is working. We don't want to see things that could compromise or undermine that effort.”

The Federal Reserve's actions to lend billions of dollars to prop up and sell off ailing brokerage Bear Stearns will help all Americans by stabilizing capital markets, a senior U.S. Treasury official said. via WTNZ-TV Knoxville

“We hope to restore these cuts”

Connecticut municipal officials on Wednesday urged Congress to provide more federal money for local projects such as affordable housing and elderly services they consider critical to their communities. via Hartford Business

Faced with a stubborn mortgage crisis that is contributing to a credit crunch and a floundering economy, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. via Berkshire Eagle

“I know none of us gathered here today believes nearly 10 million children under the age of five dying every year is an acceptable reality”

' When former Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., left office in 2006, he searched for a cause to champion that he said "would make the biggest impact on changing the course of humanity." He chose global ... via Chattanooga Times Free Press

Sen. Christopher Dodd announced significant new legislation today that would allow families of people with disabilities to save money in tax-advantaged accounts. The Disability Savings Act of 2008 would allow savings similar to college 529 plans, so families could put aside money for care without jeopardizing their access to existing government assistance.

Dodd said it would give relief to families asking the stressful question: When we're gone, who will take care of our loved one with a disability? Read more

“Why should they have to pay twice?”

Sen. Christopher Dodd said Monday there's a simple way to end the wrangling between Sen. via MLive.com

Real estate industry groups want Congress to get busy on a long-delayed bill that strengthens regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a desire they'll share with senators on Thursday. via International Business Times

“It seems some higher force is going to have to get the meeting of the minds together”

Congress and the government may have a limited capacity to ease the crisis because it has gotten too advanced, experts say. via Hartford Courant