Mortgage mess echoes in Congress

(LATimes) - As mortgage-related turmoil weighs down the U.S. economy, members of Congress are considering a range of measures aimed at easing the current problems while preventing such a crisis from recurring in the future.


Lawmakers are pushing regulators to police the mortgage business more vigilantly. They are preparing legislation that would overhaul standards for all home loans, imposing new regulation on brokers, independent lenders and investors who purchase mortgage-related securities.


And they are urging a broader role for the giant, federally chartered mortgage finance companies -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- in helping refinance delinquent mortgages.