President Obama on Monday rolled out a new blueprint to staunch the bleeding of the housing market amid mounting bipartisan criticism over his handling of a mortgage crisis that has stymied economic growth.
At a campaign-style stop in Las Vegas, ground zero for the bursting housing bubble, Obama trumpeted executive-branch actions to ease refinancing for those who now owe more on their home than it’s worth.
The measures will remove the loan-to-value cap for those seeking refinancing and requirements for appraisals and certain fees for mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The executive measures are part of a wider narrative to paint Republicans as obstructionists — billed the “We Can’t Wait” tour by the White House — in the wake of yet another attempt to move the president’s jobs agenda on Capitol Hill.
“We can’t wait for an increasingly dysfunctional Congress to do its job,” Obama told Silver State homeowners. “Where they won’t act, I will.”
White House officials were unable to calculate how many “underwater” borrowers would benefit from the program but initial estimates from analysts suggest it would only help a relatively small portion of the 11 million Americans who owe more than their home is worth.
In Nevada, roughly six of 10 mortgage holders– the highest in the nation — are labeled “underwater.”
Republicans responded to the announcement by hammering the president for failing to address housing until nearly three years after taking office and for a series of lavish fundraisers he’s headlining during this week’s trek through Nevada, California and Colorado.
The new regulations are a revamp of the so-called Home Affordable Refinance Program. The White House predicted that would aid 5 million borrowers, but just 822,000 people have used it since early 2009.
In a conference call with reporters Monday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan conceded the administration’s previous refinancing efforts have “not reached the scale that we had hoped.”
During a recent Republican presidential debate in Nevada, participants barely mentioned the housing crisis — which Obama campaign officials said provided an opening for the president.
But some conservatives say the federal government should limit its involvement in propping up homeowners who took mortgages that were ultimately beyond their means.
Of greater peril for the White House, however, has been the president’s inability to jumpstart the economy — and sell his jobs plan on Capitol Hill.
Obama was unable to move his $447 billion jobs blueprint through the Democratic-controlled Senate due to concerns about raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans to pay for the proposal.
In Las Vegas, Obama said there was “no excuse for the games and gridlock we’ve seen in Washington.”
“Folks out here don’t have the time or the patience for it,” he added.
White House aides say Obama will unveil a new executive order each week to demonstrate to voters that he’s working on the economy despite congressional gridlock over jobs legislation.
Obama on Wednesday will issue an order to ease college-loan payments for 20-somethings buckling under the burden of mounting debt.
There is also a political incentive for Obama’s tour through western swing states. The six fundraisers he’s addressing during the three-day trip will bring in more than $4.2 million for his campaign coffers.
