Reidblog [The Reid Report blog]

Shortly after 7 am today President Bush signed a massive housing bill that will provide relief for more than 400,000 homeowners and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 will allow a limited number of homeowners who can’t afford their mortgage payments to refinance with government-backed loans. As many as 400-thousand families become eligible for help refinancing expensive mortgages. This will not help homeowners who have already been hit with foreclosure. The measure will also give the Bush administration new authority to control Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

"We look forward to put in place new authorities to improve confidence and stability in markets, and to provide better oversight for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. "The Federal Housing Administration will begin to implement new policies intended to keep more deserving American families in their homes."

President Bush signed the bill with no invited Congressional guests despite the fact that Congress has not gone on their summer recess yet and is still in town. The sweeping housing reforms passed with strong Republican and Democratic support.

At his Oval Office desk, President Bush was surrounded by a half dozen administration officials who will now have the authority to better supervise the big mortgage lenders, and help a limited number of families refinance their expensive mortgages.

Bush signed off on the death penalty for Ronald A. Gray, who grew up in the Liberty City area of Miami and was stationed at Fort Bragg at the time of the crimes. Eventually, he was convicted in connection with eight rapes and four murders that took place in in the area. Gray, who was 22 and held the rank of specialist at the time of his court martial, has been on death row at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., since 1988.

Bush's action was the first time in more than half a century that a president has approved the execution of a member of the Armed Services.

"While approving a sentence of death for a member of our Armed Services is a serious and difficult decision for a commander-in-chief, the president believes the facts of this case leave no doubt that the sentence is just and warranted," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. She called the crimes "brutal."

Gray will not be put to death for at least 60 days, and it may be much longer because further legal action on his case is possible, said Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb, an Army spokeswoman. Edgecombe noted that while the last military execution took place in 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower had approved it in 1957.