Housing bill advances on hopes of compromise

WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite a veto threat from the president, House Democrats are moving ahead with their mortgage relief bill.

Majority Democrats are moving the plan to the Senate. They got a boost from nearly 40 Republicans whose constituents have been hard-hit by the sub-prime mortgage crisis but Senate approval is not a certainty. And not enough House Republicans are in favor of the plan to make it veto-proof even if it clears the Senate.

Democrats are hoping there's enough wiggle room for a broad bi-partisan compromise.

That would satisfy the keen appetite for election-year housing assistance to stave off foreclosure and still satisfy the White House.

Critics of broader government subsidies for home loans say prudent homebuyers and renters shouldn't be called on to bail out borrowers who gambled that prices would keep rising and lost.