WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President George W. Bush signed into law a bill to extend unemployment benefits over the Christmas holiday period and major federal lenders will freeze home foreclosures until the New Year, officials said Friday.
In a bid to ease the sting of rising job losses in the worsening economy, the White House said Bush signed the bill to provide an extra seven weeks of unemployment insurance to workers whose benefits have expired, for a total of 46 weeks.
The bill also offers 13 more weeks of benefits for unemployed workers in states where there is high unemployment, for a total of up to 59 weeks.
Bush signed the measure into law early Friday before departing for Peru to attend an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru, spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
In addition, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced they had notified loan servicing organizations to freeze foreclosures from the Thanksgiving holiday until January 9, 2009.
"Freddie Mac servicers and foreclosure attorneys were told to contact as quickly as possible an estimated 6,000 borrowers with foreclosure sales scheduled between November 26, 2008 and January 9, 2009," it said in a statement.
"If the property is occupied, the servicers and foreclosure attorneys will halt the sale."
Fannie Mae said its measure could help at least 10,000 borrowers to stay in their homes while lenders try to work out new terms for people unable to pay their mortgages.
Other banking giants have previously announced similar measures.
Citigroup said earlier this month it was placing a moratorium on foreclosures for most home loan borrowers and "preemptively reach out" to 500,000 of its mortgage customers who require help to keep their payments up-to-date.
JPMorgan Chase has said it would accelerate the restructuring of 110 billion dollars in real estate loans to help 650,000 families keep their homes.
In early October Bank of America also said it was going to modify mortgages for 400,000 homeowners who were customers of Countrywide Financial Corporation, which Bank of America took over earlier in the year.
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