Key policymakers continued hammering out details Thursday of housing legislation that is likely to include broader authority for the Treasury Department to back the government-sponsored enterprises.
After meeting behind closed doors with their staffs for almost an hour, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd emerged saying they were inching closer to reaching a deal on the bill.
The House is expected to consider the legislation July 23, and the goal is for the Senate to accept it shortly thereafter without making changes.
"We've got to do that. My hope is that we are going to get all of this done as a one-stop shopping," said Sen. Dodd.
Rep. Frank said, "We're making progress … . We each have colleagues with varying degrees of amiability, but based on this conversation I am optimistic that we will be able to send them something that they will be able to accept."
Rep. Frank also met with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson later in the day.
Afterwards, Mr. Paulson said he was encouraged. "I feel even better about it than I did yesterday," he said. "I feel confident we will come to a favorable result and we will do it next week."
