Housing bill, by the numbers
--$4 billion for buying and improving abandoned properties
--$15 billion in tax breaks, including the much-discussed credit of up to $7,500 for first-time buyers
--plans to insure new loans totaling as much as $300 billion for homeowners in trouble
--a permanent increase (to $625,500) to the limit on the size of mortgages that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase or guarantee
--no cap on the amount of money the Treasury Department can extend to Fannie and Freddie via a line of credit
--the creation of a new oversight agency for Fannie and Freddie, called the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which could put a lid on the multi-million-dollar executive compensation there
Want more details? See the AP story HERE and The Wall Street Journal story HERE.
