Every so often, we're reminded the U.S. Congressfolk really are people like us. Today's example: Tim Walz.

The Rochester Post-Bulletin reports on Walz's close encounter with the foreclosure crisis: the congressman says the house next to his Mankato home "has been in foreclosure for a year and my property value dropped 20 percent this year."

The anecdote is part of reporter Edward Felker's closer look at congressional attempts to ameliorate foreclosure damage. Walz, a first-term Democrat, favors a House bill that would let the Federal Housing Administration insure rewritten mortgages, provide $10 billion in revenue bonds to states, and funnel $11 billion toward homeowner tax credits.

Walz's congressional neighbor, Republican John Kline, opposes the plan, the Post-Bulletin notes. The House and Senate are trying to reconcile bills, but the margins aren't large enough to overcome President Bush's threatened veto. — David Brauer