Congress is set to examine a housing stimulus package that includes such proposals as a change to the Bankruptcy Code for struggling homeowners, shielding banks from lawsuits and providing government assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Lawmakers also plan this week to question several high-profile mortgage and banking executives about industrywide losses and lavish executive-compensation packages. A bill likely to be debated on the Senate floor Tuesday, S. 2636, includes a proposed revision to the Bankruptcy Code that would allow judges to cut interest rates and reduce what’s owed on troubled borrowers’ mortgages. Also included in the Senate legislation is a measure mandating $200 million for foreclosure-prevention counseling services and an allowance for states to issue more tax-exempt bonds so that housing agencies could help homeowners refinance high-cost mortgages. In the House, lawmakers are considering whether the federal government should shield banks from lawsuits brought by investors whose holdings of mortgage securities are negatively affected by changes in loan terms or other measures intended to help at-risk borrowers. The plan was first put forward by Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) but appears to have attracted support from key House Democrats.