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A 15 billion dollar bipartisan legislation package on Capitol Hill designed to relieve the housing market is under study.  The plan, created in the Senate, won't be finalized until the House and White House respond with their changes.  Among the key components in the Senate's plan are the following: 

Upgrading the FHA mortgage program with permanent new loan limits. The statutory maximum would be increased to $550,000 in high cost markets and would kick in after Dec. 31.

Create a $4 billion fix-up fund for communities experiencing high rates of foreclosure and vacant, deteriorating houses. The money could be used by local governments to acquire, rehab, and resell the properties to private or nonprofit owners.

One hundred million dollars in additional funding to support housing counseling services that work with delinquent homeowners to avoid foreclosure.

Tougher financial penalties, up to $4,000 per violation, for lenders who do not provide timely truth-in-lending disclosures about loan terms to borrowers.

A new federal property tax deduction for homeowners who do not itemize. They would be eligible to take a standardized writeoff of between $500 for single taxpayers, and $1,000 for married owners filing jointly, in lieu of local and state property tax deductions.

Up to $10 billion in new tax-exempt bond authority for local and state housing agencies to refinance subprime borrowers facing payment increases they can't afford.

A $6 billion tax benefit for home builders, allowing them to write off net operating losses that extend back four years, double the current two year limit.

A non-refundable $7,000 tax credit for buyers of foreclosed homes. This is intended to be an incentive to get these properties off the market and into productive use quickly.

Critics are upset at what was left out:  A plan allowing bankruptcy judges to reduce borrowers' mortgage debts to lenders was omitted. Plus too much relief is going to builders, and not enough to ordinary homeowners struggling to make payments.