By Matt Hutton

U.S. Rep. Phil Hare said he was glad the president signed a housing bill this week to provide mortgage relief to struggling homeowners.

Hare, D-Rock Island, has been vocal in his call for the government to provide assistance for those homeowners in danger of losing their homes because of predatory lenders. At one point, he even called for a moratorium on foreclosures — which he said increased 110 percent from 2007 to 2008.

“There was tremendous bipartisan support on this bill. I'm glad the president signed it. We had to do something, and quickly. ... We had to stop the hemorrhaging of foreclosures.”

The measure Bush signed Wednesday, regarded as the most significant housing legislation in decades, lets homeowners who cannot afford their payments refinance into more affordable government-backed loans rather than losing their homes. It offers a temporary financial lifeline to troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and tightens controls over the two government-sponsored businesses.

Hare said that, before the bill was passed, 1-in-38 homeowners in Illinois alone were projected to lose their homes in the next two years. But that doesn't mean the other homeowners wouldn't have been affected because a foreclosure brings property values down in the entire area.

“When a home is foreclosed on, they lose money in the neighborhood as well, even for people not being foreclosed on,” Hare said. “What this does is it helps people out.”

The bill requires that any profits made through refinanced mortgages go back to the government to help fund the loans.

“Hopefully, we'll avoid people buying on the cheap trying to make money,” Hare said.

The congressman also praised the $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers.

“I think that's a really good provision in the bill,” he said. “Hopefully it will help stabilize the market.”

The bill also includes the creation of an independent regulator with stronger control of the lending industry. Hare said that, while it is unfortunate so many lenders will walk away from the housing crisis with sizable profits, the regulators should make sure something like this doesn't happen again.

“I think the bill will be an economic boost,” he said. “To repo a home it costs tax payers $20,000, ultimately passed on by bad debt.”

Hare was particularly happy with the extension of foreclosure protection for returning veterans from three to nine months.

“It gives a returning soldier time to get back on their feet. Often their jobs are gone when they return, then they're looking at foreclosure. This gives them some time and can help out a great deal for service people.”