January 23 – Bloomberg (Alison Vekshin):

 “Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd proposed creating a federal program to buy ‘very distressed’ mortgages at steep discounts as part of economic stimulus legislation being developed in Congress. The Federal Homeownership Preservation Corp. would buy loans and finance them as 30-year fixed-rate mortgages to help keep borrowers from losing their homes, Dodd said… The approach ‘would allow us to deal with this foreclosure matter in a very creative way,’ said Dodd… Dodd’s proposal, modeled on the Depression-era Home Owners’ Loan Corp., came as Democrats unveiled several proposals reminiscent of 1930s-style economic-stimulus programs. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said today Congress should work on a long-term plan that would pay to build roads, utilities, schools and housing.”