Section 109 – Foreclosure Mitigation Efforts – states in part (a) that “the Secretary (Paulson) shall implement a plan that seeks to maximize assistance for homeowners…to minimize foreclosures.”

In part (c), the bill states “Upon any request arising under existing investment contracts, the Secretary shall consent, where appropriate, and considering net present value to the taxpayer, to reasonable requests for loss mitigation measures, including term extensions, rate reductions, principal write downs…”

I don’t know what all those words mean! The bill gives the Treasury 45 days to come up with a plan. What does “investment contracts” mean? This section, to my limited knowledge, doesn’t mean Joe Homeowner. To me, “investment contracts” means the large pools of mortgages “out there”. They’re also called CDOs (collaterolized debt obligations) or “securitized” deals. But maybe I’m wrong. I’m very curious what these new powers given the Treasury really mean to Joe Homeowner who’s facing foreclosure.