WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Though lawmakers have vowed to confront the deepening mortgage crisis, Senate leaders are locked in a procedural stalemate over how to take up a homeowner relief bill.
A homeowner relief bill is stalled in the Senate. A key vote is planned Tuesday.
Negotiations are expected to continue until a key vote planned Tuesday afternoon on the Democratic-authored bill, aides on both sides said.
"Every day Congress and the president do nothing is another day closer to another American family losing their home," Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, warned on the Senate floor Monday.
The bill would, for the first time, allow bankruptcy judges to reset mortgages on primary residences. It would also provide $4 billion for local communities to buy and refurbish foreclosed properties, provide $200 million for counseling to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, give tax breaks for the home-building industry and improve loan disclosure and transparency.
Republicans are threatening to block the bill, as they did before the recess, unless Democrats give in to their demands to allow votes on certain GOP amendments.
Most Republicans back a proposal by Republican Sens. Kit Bond of Missouri and Johnny Isakson of Georgia. Its key feature is a $15,000 tax credit for people who buy and occupy a home that is in or near foreclosure.
The bill shares other aspects of the Democratic proposal but not the controversial bankruptcy provision, which Republicans strongly oppose. They argue it would force banks to increase mortgage rates across the board.
Democrats "propose an ill-conceived plan that will substantially increase monthly mortgage payments on everyone who buys a new home or refinance," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
"There is no way this proposal is going to fly. If Democrats want to help homeowners, they need to work with Republicans on proposals that will draw substantial bipartisan support."
But Democrats complained Monday that Republicans also want votes on amendments related to non-housing issues such as extending President Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, although a GOP leadership aide said he doubted such amendments would be offered by his party.
A Democratic leadership aide predicted political pressure during the break might pry loose enough Republican votes to get the 60 votes needed Tuesday to begin debate.
The aide pointed to Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, who said on CNN's "Late Edition" Sunday he "would hope" Republicans and Democrats would "come together with a package of solutions that are realistic about those things which can be done."
Martinez, a former HUD secretary, is frustrated by the lack of action and wants to find a way to move the bill, an aide acknowledged.
Even McConnell said Congress must act to prevent the crisis from worsening.
"I think it's safe to say there is interest on both sides in moving forward," he told Reid on the floor Monday. E-mail to a friend 
All About Home Financing • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development • U.S. Senate
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