Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called Tuesday for an aggressive response to deal with an unfolding housing crisis that he said presents a significant risk to the economy.

In the administration’s most detailed reaction to the steepest housing slump in 16 years, Paulson said that government and the financial industry should provide immediate help for homeowners trying to refinance current mortgages before they reset at much higher rates.

He also called for an overhaul of laws and regulations governing mortgage lending to halt abusive practices that contributed to the current crisis.

The housing slump is expected to stymie U.S. economic growth through early 2008, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said during a speech Monday at the Economic Club of New York.

“A further sharp contraction in residential construction seemed likely to hold down overall economic growth in the fourth quarter and in early 2008,” Bernanke said, noting that data since the Federal Open Market Committee’s latest meeting on Sept. 18 suggest “further weakening in the housing market, as sales have fallen further and new residential construction has continued to decline rapidly.”