Freeze Reset Plan Draws Congressional Fire

The Bush administration's plan to freeze resets on subprime adjustable-rate mortgages is flawed because it will not provide any relief for borrowers with credit scores above 660, according to the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the committee chairman, said he welcomes the administration's effort to freeze ARM resets for five years. However, it is a "grave error that there is a cutoff at a 660 FICO score," he said. Rep. Frank argued that a credit score is not a good proxy for income and means that people who were careful with their credit may not qualify for relief. "I think it is a great mistake morally and politically," Rep. Frank said. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the administration's plan a "positive step" that could help about 200,000 people -- but said more needs to be done. Sen. Reid urged Republican senators to stop blocking a vote on a Federal Housing Administration reform bill that could provide refinancing options for troubled subprime borrowers.