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While McCain’s proposal draws on authorities established under several existing laws, including the bailout and the one that created the Hope for Homeowners program, his pledge to direct the Treasury secretary to buy mortgages under specific guidelines represents a change. The bailout law creates the opening for this program, but it does not require it.
Obama called for the consideration of such steps, but McCain is saying he would use the new authority in this manner — a proposal that is sure to be more popular with Democrats than Republicans.
The primary difference between McCain’s proposal (based on authority in the bailout law) and the Hope for Homeowners program is that McCain would buy bad mortgages while the existing program would guarantee them. Both are priced at up to $300 billion.
Note to Readers: The passage in bold corrects an earlier analysis that questioned whether McCain’s proposal went beyond already existing ones.
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