Loans sought for jobless homeowners

November 17, 2009|Associated Press

FALL RIVER - Representative Barney Frank said yesterday that he is pushing a proposal to use some of the interest the government collects from the financial industry bailout to give loans to unemployed homeowners who are struggling to pay the mortgage.

The lack of such aid has been identified as a big weakness in the Obama administration’s plan to tackle the mortgage crisis. A report by a congressional oversight panel said the $50 billion program “was not designed to address foreclosures caused by unemployment.’’

Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, appeared in Fall River and New Bedford with the US Housing and Urban Development secretary, Shaun Donovan, saying that he favors providing government loans to homeowners who have lost their jobs.

Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said the program would be funded using interest banks pay on the $700 billion Wall Street bailout.