I just read:

Congressional Democrats have reached a compromise on allowing two government-sponsored mortgage companies to increase their debt holdings in an effort to help financially struggling homeowners.

House and Senate lawmakers said Thursday they will support legislation that permits Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase holdings of mortgages and mortgage-backed securities by $74 billion each, or 10 percent above current limits of $735 billion – for six months.

Of the total $147 billion increase, 85 percent, or $125 billion, would be targeted at helping borrowers with weak, or subprime, credit refinance loans due to reset at sharply higher rates.

The move should create some badly needed financial flexibility in a housing market that has been buffeted by soaring foreclosure and default rates. If Fannie and Freddie are permitted to increase their purchases of mortgages from banks, those banks will have more credit to make available to financially strapped homeowners.