Hensarling: The Best Foreclosure Prevention Program is a Paycheck, Not a Government Check
WASHINGTON, DC – March 30, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) issued the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 839 to eliminate the failed Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which is funded by $30 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money.
“The best foreclosure prevention program is a job—it’s a paycheck, not a government check. Job creators who are hampered by the uncertainty of the national debt want to end America’s spending-driven debt crisis by cutting costly and ineffective programs and rolling back the Democrats’ reckless spending spree. That is the only way we can put America back on a fiscally sustainable course for the future.”
“For the sake of fostering job growth today and averting national bankruptcy tomorrow, the federal government must stop spending money that it doesn’t have. House Republicans fully understand this, and are committed to eliminating expensive government programs that have failed the American people.
“The Home Affordable Modification Program is a deeply misguided attempt to use big government programs as a means to keep borrowers in homes they simply cannot afford. Expert analysis from the Special Inspector General for TARP, the Congressional Oversight Panel, and the Government Accountability Office has confirmed that HAMP not only failed to work but has actually hurt struggling homeowners.
“The Obama administration’s goal to ‘help 3 to 4 million homeowners by 2012’ with HAMP has fallen flat. To date, only about 522,000 loans have been permanently modified through HAMP assistance. Furthermore, mortgage foreclosures are more widespread today than they were before HAMP’s creation. Foreclosure filings went from 2.3 million in 2008 to 2.9 million in 2010, with a 20 percent increase predicted for 2011.
“Congress has a clear responsibility to the American people to terminate this disastrous program and rescind all unspent TARP funds allotted to it. That is what H.R. 839 is meant to do.”
