Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said his committee will consider legislation that would mandate a moratorium on foreclosures and use government funds to subsidize mortgages modifications.
The two items would be tagged on as provisions of the proposed $825 billion economic stimulus package that’s currently making its way through Congress.

The modification provision would be similar to one introduced by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) chairwoman Sheila Bair, which proposed using $24.4 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to pay for mortgage modifications for homeowners in danger of foreclosure.
The foreclosure moratorium could last up to 90 days, Dodd told reporters in the Senate Press Gallery in the Capitol. “The president has talked about it,” Dodd said.
Dodd also told the gathered reporters that his committee has an “aggressive schedule” for creating regulatory reform legislation, meeting twice a week for the coming months to meet President Barack Obama’s April deadline.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to testify before the committee about options for financial reform. Dodd said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Geithner made a request to Congress to fund a “bad bank” to buy bad mortgage securities debt from banks.
Dodd said, “Before any such request is made, the Treasury Department must demonstrate they know how to handle what they’ve been given. If they fail to do that I see a very high hurdle to climb.”