President George W. Bush is proposing to aid hundreds of thousands of borrowers hard hit by the housing slump, the Associated Press reported.

The president will outline several initiatives and reforms today to help homeowners with risky mortgages keep their homes, a senior administration official said. Bush also will discuss efforts to prevent these kinds of problems from arising in the future.

The official said Bush will direct Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson to work on an initiative to help troubled mortgage holders get services and products they need to keep them from defaulting on their loans. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the initiatives ahead of the presidential event.

Bush also planned to urge Congress to pass legislation that would give the Federal Housing Administration more flexibility in assisting mortgage holders with subprime mortgages, pledge to work with Congress to reform the tax code to help troubled borrowers rework their loans and call for rigorously enforcing predatory lending laws and strengthening lending practices.