WASHINGTON -- San Francisco Peninsula Congresswoman Jackie Speier teamed with a New York colleague Friday to urge President-elect Barack Obama to retain current Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairwoman Sheila Bair in his incoming administration.

Speier (D-San Mateo) and U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) co-wrote Obama a letter asking him to retain the FDIC chair.

"Bair, unlike some of her colleagues in the (Bush) Administration, recognizes the heart of the financial crisis lies in the millions of Americans who have lost their homes or who are struggling under debt and the threat of foreclosure," they wrote.

Both Speier and Maloney serve on the House Financial Services Committee.

The lawmakers noted that while Bair's term does not expire until 2011, media reports indicate that incoming Treasury Secretary Mark Geithner may want to see her leave before then.

"Bair has come up with a system-wide program that could keep millions of families in their homes," the letter states.

That plan, the congresswomen said, enables homeowners facing foreclosure to stay in their homes by reducing their monthly payments through lower interest rates, longer amortization and reduction of the principal.

"It is estimated that through this program, $24.4 billion out of TARP funds could save 1.5 million mortgages from foreclosure," Speier and Maloney wrote.