Rescue Plan:

Barack Obama said during the presidential debates he believes this country is in the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The senator believes workers and families who are struggling right now need help and proposes passing an economic rescue plan for the middle-class. He says the key to stabilizing the financial system and helping homeowners is jobs, so he proposes giving businesses a New American Jobs Tax Credit for each employee they hire to work in the U.S., rather than abroad over the next two years.

He supports expanding unemployment benefits to Americans who are having difficulty finding new jobs.

The candidate also supports allowing families to take out 15% of their retirement savings penalty-free from IRAs and 401(k)s up to a maximum of $10,000.

The candidate supports allowing homeowners affected by the mortgage crisis to modify their mortgages so they can remain in their homes. He also supports a 90-day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners making good faith efforts to pay their mortgages, according to the campaign Web site.

The site also says Obama introduced the “Stop Fraud Act” over a year ago to “fight mortgage fraud and protect consumers against abusive lending practices. This legislation defines what mortgage fraud is, gives federal and state law enforcement more funding for enforcement, and creates new criminal penalties for those found guilty of mortgage fraud.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

According to a Reuters report Senator Obama said “Given the substantial role that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play in our housing system, I believe that some form of intervention is necessary to prevent a larger and deeper crisis throughout our entire economy.”

Obama says his “Stop Fraud Act” would require the types of disclosures that would prevent this from happening in the future.

AIG, Lehman Brothers:

Obama called the bailing out of AIG a "final verdict on the failed economic philosophy of the last eight years,” according to a Reuters report.

At a campaign event he said the “Federal Reserve must ensure that the plan protects the families that count on insurance.”

Like his opponent John McCain, Obama did not support a bailout of Lehman Brothers, like the one given to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said an Associated Press report.