Housing rescue: What you need to know

In brief: Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd's Hope for Homeowners plan resembles Frank's in that troubled borrowers would be able to refinance into an FHA-insured, fixed-rate loan at 90% of newly appraised home values, or what the borrower can comfortably afford. The government would be compensated with 3% of the new loan amount for taking on the added risk and borrowers would pay annual insurance premiums of up to 1% of loan. Lenders would have to waive all prepayment penalties and late fees.

Borrowers would have to stay in their homes at least a year. After that, the government would receive 90% of any profit made if the home is sold in the second year, 80% in the third and so on until the percentage falls to 60% in year five. After that, the government gets half of any profits.

The argument: The plan would target many at-risk home owners from foreclosure without setting them up for large profits should housing markets begin rising again.

Who supports it The same mix of progressives and free-market groups that have backed the Frank proposal.

Who's against it Like the Frank bill, many of the Dodd plan's provisions are supported by both the political left and right. On Tuesday, one big bone of contention was removed when Senate Democrats agreed to drop a provision that would have allowed judges to reduce mortgage balances of homeowners in bankruptcy.

Taxpayer price tag: It could be self-sustaining, but the government is taking on substantial new risk that could prove expensive should housing markets crash.

NEXT: Administration plan: Put "upside-down" right