Sentence:  The Administration 's proposals , complex and sweeping as they <WSD>are</WSD> , all deal with fringe areas of the housing market rather than its core , stated Caron S. Stallard , first vice-president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)