GOP plan for housing emerges

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans circulated a sweeping plan to drive down the cost of mortgages by expanding the federal government's role in the industry, officials said last night as debate opened on an economic stimulus bill at the top of President Obama's agenda.

The emerging proposal also relies on a bigger and more widely available tax break for homebuyers than is now available, those officials added as Senate Republicans staked their claim to a different type of economic recovery measure from what Democrats and the administration favor.

Democrats already are under pressure from moderates in their own party to scale back spending in the $885 billion bill, and Obama met with party leaders at the White House late in the day to discuss strategy.

"What we can't do is let very modest differences get in the way" of swift enactment of the legislation, Obama said hours earlier as new layoffs rippled through the economy.

In the Capitol, Republicans said their goal was to change the bill, not to block it. "Nobody that I know of is trying to keep a package from passing," said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader. "We need to fix housing first." Republicans are expected to seek a vote on their proposals this week as part of the debate on the overall stimulus measure.

Officials said the GOP was coalescing behind a proposal designed to give banks an incentive to make loans at rates currently estimated at 4 percent to 4.5 percent. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were seized by the federal government in September, would be required to purchase the mortgages once banks have made them to consumers.

Officials said loans to credit-worthy borrowers on primary residences with a mortgage of up to $625,000 would qualify, including those seeking to refinance their current loans.

Separately, Republican officials said they would press for a $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers through the end of the year. Current law permits a $7,500 tax break and limits it to first-time homebuyers.

Republicans generally dislike government intervention in the workings of the private marketplace, but their opposition has eroded in recent months as the crisis in the financial industry and economy has deepened. The officials who described the emerging proposal did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss it.

McConnell also said Republicans favored cutting the two lowest tax brackets as a way to "put money back in people's hands directly." If adopted, that would reduce the tax rate from 10 percent to 5 percent for the first $8,350 in individual income for the current year, and $16,700 for couples. The tax rate would be lowered from 15 percent to 10 percent on income between $8,351 and $33,950 for individuals and between $16,701 and $67,900 for couples.

Obama and the Democrats favor a different approach. The legislation provides a cut of $500 for workers and $1,000 for working couples, even if they do not earn enough in wages to pay income taxes.

Separately, Democrats privately conceded they might wind up reducing spending, which has come under withering fire in recent days from Republicans.

Last week, House Democrats jettisoned money to reseed the National Mall and a provision to make it easier for states to offer family-planning services to the poor under the Medicaid program.

Democrats hold a commanding 58-41 majority in the Senate, but some of their more moderate and conservative members are pushing to trim spending. There was additional pressure on the leadership in the form of bipartisan amendments to reduce spending. As a result, the outcome of the debate on the measure is far less clear than it was in the House, where leaders had the votes to enforce their will.

The political environment also has changed since House Republicans voted unanimously against the bill last week. Opinion polls show strong support for a package of tax cuts and spending increases.

But Obama is now on the spot, having pledged to GOP lawmakers that he would make changes in the bill once it reached the Senate.

The $885 billion Senate bill is larger than the House-passed version at $819 billion, principally because it includes a one-year tax cut to prevent upper-middle-income taxpayers from falling victim to the Alternative Minimum Tax. The AMT initially was created a generation ago to make sure the super-wealthy did not avoid taxation, but inflation has expanded its reach over the years.

In all, the Senate measure provides for roughly $560 billion in spending and $325 billion in tax cuts.

Much of the spending is in the form of health care for the poor; education funds for the states to avoid the impact of their own budget cuts on schools; and more money for food stamps, unemployment insurance, and worker-retraining funds. The bill includes a down payment on two of Obama's domestic initiatives: expanding health-information technology and providing spending and tax cuts to encourage development of new jobs while increasing the reliance of alternative-energy sources.

Whatever the breakdown, Republicans said there was far too much spending, and not enough in tax cuts.