Republicans, Democrats Close to Reaching Compromise on Housing Plan

Washington, D.C.–Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., said he is close to settling a foreclosure prevention plan with Republican lawmakers, Bloomberg reported Thursday. “We’re very, very close to an agreement,” Dodd said. “I’m still confident we can get there.”A hearing is scheduled for Thursday on Dodd’s plan to have lenders forgive a portion of outstanding home loans and have the Federal Housing Administration insure the refinanced mortgages.Dodd and Senator Richard Shelby, R.-Ala., worked into the “wee hours” to alter the plan, Dodd said. In a CNBC interview Thursday, Shelby said he and Dodd were close to a compromise, Bloomberg said.