U.S. Rep. Frank to scrutinize housing and credit cards

By John Poirier
Fri Jan 4, 6:35 PM ET

The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee will this year scrutinize the mortgage lending industry and draft new consumer protections for credit card holders, he said on Friday.

Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, also said he will fiercely defend his plan to create a government-funded program that would boost the country's supply of housing for low-income families.

"I think the lack of affordable housing is now clear to everyone as a contributing factor to the subprime crisis," Frank said in an interview with Reuters. "If people want to make that a fight, I think we win."