Its business is rising, but the federal mortgage guarantor is slow to weed out abusive lenders.

House Republicans pared back their goals on Friday and demanded that the $700 billion bailout plan rely at least partly on an industry-financed insurance program for troubled mortgages.

The president faces the grim prospect of being blamed, at least in part, for an economic breakdown.

As the financial crisis radiates far beyond Wall Street, Mr. Bush faces an even grimmer prospect: being blamed, at least in part, for an economic breakdown.

The housing agency attributed the unexpected losses to high default rates in its portfolio of home loans.

Brian D. Montgomery has won respect in Washington for his efforts to modernize the Federal Housing Administration as it leads the government effort to rescue homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

The private mortgage market in the U.S. — almost moribund in the wake of the subprime crisis that bankrupted some lenders last year — is showing small signs of revival.

Senators say the legislation approved on Tuesday to help suffering homeowners refinance costly loans could rescue the housing market, but others say the plan is riskier than it seems.

Despite pledges by the White House and Democrats to work together, the bill to rescue homeowners and their lenders produced partisan recriminations the day after it passed the House.

The bill, which is expected to win House approval, would expand access to federally insured mortgages for troubled homeowners seeking to refinance their loans.