WASHINGTON—Four Democratic senators called Tuesday for the U.S. Treasury Department to open its mortgage aid package to the widest range of troubled homeowners possible.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has said he is drafting a plan with leaders of the mortgage industry that would hold mortgage rates in place for many borrowers facing foreclosure.
"We believe that this broad modification effort, if done correctly, is an important piece of addressing the subprime crisis," reads the letter from Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd and several colleagues.
Specifically, the lawmakers ask that the Treasury Department apply a relaxed test for which homeowners will be eligible for help under a plan expected to be announced in detail later this week.
"It would be a sad irony if this attempt to correct the damage done by poor underwriting standards ... was undone by criteria that made loan modifications and workouts available to too few borrowers," the letter states.
Besides Dodd, of Connecticut, the letter was signed by Charles Schumer of New York, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
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