Obama Heads To Struggling Nevada To Talk Economy, Housing After Fundraising Swing

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Refocusing on the economy, President Barack Obama on Friday pushed Republicans to back housing policies the White House says would help shore up struggling homeowners and prevent foreclosures.

Against the backdrop of a middle-class neighborhood in economically hard-hit Nevada, Obama touted steps his administration has already taken to help homeowners refinance their mortgages. But the president said he needed help from lawmakers in order to expand the refinancing efforts.

"There are things that we can do right now to help create jobs, to help restore some of the financial security that so many families have lost," Obama said. "But I have to say that there are a few too many Republicans in Congress who don't seem to be as optimistic as we are."

With Nevada voters up for grabs in the November election, Obama also drew a contrast with Republican Mitt Romney's plan for the nation's struggling housing market. While never mentioning Romney by name, the president criticized his rival and others in GOP for saying the government should allow the housing market to "hit bottom and hope for the best."

Seeking to put a real face on the nation's housing woes, Obama met earlier Friday with Reno homeowners Paul and Val Keller. Obama said the couple had benefited from executive action he took that made it easier to refinance a mortgage and is now saving $240 a month.

"That's real money," Obama said during a kitchen table chat at the Keller home.

Administration officials said refinancing applications have increased nationwide by 50 percent since Obama made it easier to refinance. In Nevada, which ranks second in the nation in foreclosed homes, officials said refinancing applications were up by about 230 percent.

But Obama said his administration is limited in the action it can take on its own.

Earlier this year, he proposed legislation that would lower lending rates for millions of borrowers who have not been able to get out from under burdensome mortgages. Obama would pay for the estimated $5 billion to $10 billion cost with a fee on large banks. The plan faces an uphill fight in Congress. The White House says it would not insist on the bank fees as a means to finance the plan.

Obama's shift back to the economy ended a week dominated by his public embrace of gay marriage. He followed up his historic, yet politically risky, announcement with a day of West Coast fundraising, including a gala event at the Los Angeles home of actor George Clooney on Thursday night that raised nearly $15 million.

Obama won Nevada in his 2008 presidential election. But the economy presents new challenges as well as an opportunity for rival Romney.

Four years ago, Nevada was reeling from the recession, and Obama and union allies seized on the anxiety to mobilize voters and win the state. Today, the Nevada is still in dire straits and the economy belongs to the president.

Nevada's unemployment rate was 12 percent in March, the worst in the nation. As of last month, Nevada's foreclosure rate trailed only Arizona among states. And the Nevadans most affected by the state's poor economy are the very voters who rallied behind Obama four years ago.

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Comments

[sjaent2001]

04:00 PM on 05/12/2012

"""""attention back to the economy after a day spent raising millions of dollars for his campaign and riding a media wave on his newly declared support for same-sex marriage.""""""""--------------------these are two greatest national issues and they help raise millions of dollars in contributions for the bipartisan politicking, one thing is evident bipartisanly, they can raise millions of dollars in fundraising for politicking and they cannot do nothing about raising the ECONOMY from its pitfalls and the prolonged recession. There is progress but NATIONAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY IS slower than the NATIONAL FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY. So HELP MORE ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLEASE.

[Stephen Stafford]

10:14 AM on 05/11/2012

I confess I did not know there were so many dullards in America. Still, I do not understand how some are blaming President Obama.

[SallyMaclennane]

10:24 AM on 05/11/2012

I suppose it's all still Bush's fault.

[AngryMonkey]

10:25 AM on 05/11/2012

No, its' your fault.

[Stephen Stafford]

11:30 AM on 05/11/2012

Bush is responsible for the conditions that are so tough to reverse. Yes, he is.

[getoffmedz]

09:31 AM on 05/11/2012

The Nevada housing boom/bust was the migratory residual effect of the insane California housing price bubble of the early 21st Century where overly optimistic investors/builders and buyers rolled their dice and LOST, bigtime.

Nevada is the gambling capitol of America after all. ; o }

[cajundave]

09:29 AM on 05/11/2012

I know it's haed to be enthusiastic if you've lost your job or your house, or especially if you've lost both, but voting for Romney will not help. He's already on record as having said these people should lose their houses if they can't keep up with the payments. He has proposed nothing that will make things better, and supported legislation that will make things worse for those who already are suffering. Obama and the Democrats have legislative ideas that will help, but they need filibuster majority in the Senate and a simple majority in the House. Please don't try and sell that "bill of goods" that they already had a filibuster majority in the Senate, because 58 was not enough. Take a long hard look at the things that Republicans covet. Weapons over food and tax breaks for large corporations instead of infrastructure to create jobs and rebuild our country are just two.

[Dev Austin]

10:56 AM on 05/11/2012

It's a difficult road to go down when trying to explain that the government needs to spend to shorten the effects of the recession. All this while overcoming the screaming from the tea baggers and lies surrounding the impact of Obamacare on the economy. Those less likely to follow both campaigns are those that will grab on to the fear tactics and vote against their own interests. Obama must find a way to get the message across to the majority of voters in a way they will understand. That certainly is not an easy task when you have screaming memes flittering about spreading fears and making uneducated demands.