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Action Needed To Stem Crisis, President Says

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 19, 2009

MESA, Ariz. - President Barack Obama threw a $75 billion lifeline to millions of Americans on the brink of foreclosure Wednesday, declaring an urgent need for drastic action - not only to save their homes but to keep the housing crisis "from wreaking even greater havoc" on the broader national economy.

The lending plan, a full $25 billion bigger than the administration had been suggesting, aims to prevent as many as 9 million homeowners from being evicted and to stabilize housing markets that are at the center of the ever-worsening U.S. recession.
Government support pledged to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is being doubled as well, to $400 billion, to encourage them to refinance loans that are "under water" - those in which the homes' market values have sunk below the amount the owners still owe.

"All of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis, and all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow this crisis to continue to deepen," Obama said.

The Associated Press

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