Obama Unveils Home Lending Revamp

Washington - Seeking to breathe new life into a sagging economy, President Barack Obama announced plans Monday for an executive branch rescue of homeowners trying to refinance underwater mortgages, blasting US lawmakers for their inaction on his jobs bill.

The plan already has its share of critics, including Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital, who predicted the collapse of the housing market. Check out what he has to say in the interview video.

Speaking in front of a home in Las Vegas, where an estimated 60 percent of homes are underwater, Obama said he would keep pushing Congress to pass elements of his jobs bill.

"But last month, when I addressed a joint session of Congress about our jobs crisis, I also said that I intend to do everything in my power to act on behalf of the American people -- with or without Congress," Obama said. "So I'm here to say to all of you -- and to say to the people of Nevada and the people of Las Vegas -- we can't wait for an increasingly dysfunctional Congress to do its job. Where they won't act, I will."

The initiative, the first in a series of announcements expected this week by the president, applies to homeowners with federally guaranteed mortgages who are current on their payments.

The revamped Home Affordable Refinance Program, which aims to avert foreclosures, is expected "to encourage new, lower-cost loans" to more homeowners who are paying more than the value of their properties, according to a senior administration official.

The three-year-old Home Affordable Refinance Program was supposed to allow refinancing for up to 125 percent of a home's value on mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, but has been stuck on tight eligibility rules, including excluding people with high credit scores or other attractive risk offers.

The change is not a mass refinancing of everyone in America but a targeted fix to open up the program to more people who are underwater.

The changes to the loan programs are specifically intended to bypass Congress, which is stalled on agreeing to new plans to increase jobs and jumpstart the economy.

In his remarks Monday, Obama tried on a new catchphrase, "We can't wait," to goad Republicans, despite the Democratic-led Senate voting against the president's other proposals.

Citing moves his administration has made to change "No Child Left Behind" and reduce the time it takes for small businesses to get paid when they have contracts with the federal government, Obama said he would announce other executive actions "on a regular basis."

"Now, these steps aren't a substitute for the bold action we need to create jobs and grow the economy, but they will make a difference. So we're not gonna wait for Congress," he said, adding he had told his staff to keep looking for "actions we can take without waiting for Congress."

The housing program announced Monday will be implemented by the independent Federal Housing Finance Agency.

While on a West Coast swing this week, Obama will also announce policy changes to ease college graduates' repayment of federal loans.

After a drop-in to Las Vegas, for high-money fundraising for his re-election campaign, the president will travel to Los Angeles for three more fundraisers, including one at the home of movie stars Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas. Obama will also make stops this week in San Francisco and Denver.

Source: FOX News