Obama Pushes Mortgage Relief Plan

(NewsCore) - President Barack Obama urged Congress to pass a proposal aimed at helping the economy by allowing homeowners to refinance their mortgages, in his weekly radio address Saturday.

The president, boosted by Friday's better-than-expected jobs report, said the housing market has been the biggest drag on the economy. His plan could help homeowners save $3,000 a year and would be paid for by a "small fee on the largest financial institutions," he said.

The president unveiled the plan earlier in the week, and it was met with skepticism by Republicans in Congress who questioned why this program would work when the administration's previous efforts have fallen short, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Obama acknowledged the earlier efforts "didn't help as many folks as we'd hoped."

Righting the housing market is seen as key to fixing the economy, and Obama said he needs Congress to act now.

"They're the ones who have to pass this plan. And as anyone who has followed the news in the last six months can tell you, getting Congress to do anything these days is not an easy job," he said.

In the Republican Party response, Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.) said Washington needed to do more to create jobs.

"The need for Washington to act on jobs is as urgent as ever. The nation's unemployment rate has now exceeded eight percent for three years running -- the longest stretch since the Great Depression," he said. "Struggling families and workers want to end the gridlock and get our economy moving. House Republicans have offered good ideas that will help create jobs, but to execute them, we need leadership from President Obama and help from his fellow Democrats who control the Senate."

The government said Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent, the lowest level since February 2009. President Obama said the jobs figures were proof the recovery was speeding up and he urged Congress not to "muck it up."