"

Obama unveils $1.5 billion in housing aid

Move the latest by White House determined to show it’s helping families

HENDERSON, Nev. - President Barack Obama used a campaign push for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Friday to announce a new fund to support homeowners in five states hit hardest by the U.S. housing crisis.

Housing was at the center of the financial crisis that threw the U.S. economy into deep recession in late 2007. While signs of stabilization are appearing, home foreclosures are still rising in much of the country.

Obama said he was designating $1.5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan, which have seen home prices decline more than 20 percent from their peaks.

"