Clinton Calls for Blue-Ribbon Mortgage Panel

Ex-Fed chief Alan Greenspan and other high-profile economic bigwigs should take the lead in deciding whether the government should buy homes affected by the housing crisis, Hillary Clinton says. "As it has in the past, this kind of temporary measure by the government could give our economy the boost it needs and families the help they need," the candidate said today in Philadelphia.

Clinton wants the FHA to be authorized to prop up the mortgage system in a way "designed to be self-financing over time," she said. In an effort to appeal to Pennsylvania's blue-collar voters, she called on President Bush to appoint an emergency bipartisan group including Greenspan, ex-Fed chairman Paul Volcker, and ex-treasure secretary Robert Rubin, Reuters reports. (More subprime crisis stories.)