This plan has been in place for over three months now. Bush saying Louisiana doesn't have a plan is a lie. This plan is a loan, not a federal gimme program. It sets up an agency outside the confines of state government, and local governments to help homeowners get out from under their present mortgages. It buys their property at 60% of pre-katrina levels, then does what it needs to do to attract reinvestors interested in developing the property. The reinvestors are ultimately the ones who repay this original loan. Check the other threads of today for more details. In short, it is a loan program that will be repaid.
I thought I read this morning that Ray Nagin also has a plan, coming out this week.
From what I read about Baker's plan, nobody in Congress supports it.