Derry – Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said yesterday she wants the government to crack down on "unscrupulous" mortgage brokers and provide more help to families who are facing foreclosure.

The New York senator and former first lady laid out her four-part proposal during a campaign stop at the Ernest P. Barka Elementary School during the morning. She said too many families are signing off on mortgage deals without understanding the fine print and wind up losing their homes when they can't keep up.

"Before they know it, their dream of homeownership turns into a nightmare," Clinton said.

Clinton said her plan involves making sure brokers are honest with their clients and licensed with their states, establishing a $1 billion fund to go toward state programs assisting families facing foreclosure and dedicating another $1 billion to organizations seeking to add affordable housing.

The senator's plans are an expansion of a proposal made earlier this year to add regulations to subprime mortgages, which are given to people with low income or weak credit. Clinton said the problem is deeper than just subprime loans.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton poses for a photo after talking about housing mortgages during a campaign stop in Derry.

The number of foreclosures are skyrocketing nationally, she said. There were more than 1,400 foreclosure filings in New Hampshire during the first six months of this year, she said, compared to only about 150 last year.

Clinton said she also wants to crack down on lending "abuses" that lock people into unmanageable mortgage situations, such as lenders not taking property taxes into account with high-risk clients and prepayment penalties, which charge clients extra if they pay off their mortgages early.

"I think we should encourage people to pay off their mortgages early," she said.

Clinton said she'll introduce her plan when Congress reconvenes next month. If the legislation passes and gets vetoed, she said, she'll make it a top priority if she's elected President.

Kristi Schofield of East Hampstead joined Clinton on stage during the policy address. Schofield said she and her husband, Paul, are about to lose their home after eight years. Their mortgage company asked them this week to leave the house within 17 days, she said.

Schofield, who has three children, said the family's adjustable mortgage rates climbed from $2,400 to $6,000 monthly, and it became impossible to keep up on payments. She said she supports Clinton's efforts on the issue.

"We tried to do the right thing and continued to make the payments as long as we could with our savings and what earnings we had from unemployment, temporary and part-time work," Schofield said in her prepared remarks. "My husband had a good job, we had a great home. We were living our dream."

Derry resident Bill Mafera said he thought Clinton picked an issue that needed addressing. His wife, Rachel, said she supports Clinton because she believes she'll make the country a better place to live for their 16 grandchildren.

"I don't think that she could have picked a better topic," Bill Mafera said.

Kate Bedingfield, a spokeswoman for Democratic rival John Edwards, said the former North Carolina senator "was the first candidate in this race to offer a real plan to punish predatory lenders and we're glad Sen. Clinton has chosen to follow his lead on this important issue."

Republican National Committee spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson said Clinton has a poor understanding of the economics of the issue.

"Hillary Clinton wants to put big government in control of the 'strings' that are currently being driven by America's free market economy," Wilkerson said. "Unfortunately, Clinton's $1 billion fund will likely be financed by raising taxes on the people who it's aimed to help."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.