COMMENTARY

Calling it a “failure,” Republican lawmakers have introduced new legislation that would end the Home Affordable Modification Program, the Treasury Department's program to help troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure, according to a Jan. 28 House Oversight and Government Reform Committee news release.

"HAMP is a colossal failure," Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said in the news release. "In many cases, it has hurt the very people it promised to help. It's one more example of why government interference in the private sector doesn't work and that's why it should be repealed."

At a Jan. 23 hearing held by Chair Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Neil Barofsky described the shortcomings of the program. The special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program noted that the Treasury Department had failed to provide meaningful help for homeowners. “There’s no way we’re ever going to get close to the three to four million homeowners” that President Obama said the program would help, Barofsky told lawmakers.

Despite record levels of new foreclosures, there are only 522,000 homes still in the program undergoing permanent modification, according to Oversight’s news release. More than 792,000 trial modifications have been cancelled, and 152,000 trial modifications have yet to be upgraded to permanent status.

"It's unacceptable that Treasury continues this misguided effort that appears more focused on saving face than helping troubled homeowners," Issa, a co-sponsor of the bill, said in the release.

However, Assistant Treasury Secretary Timothy Massad testified at the hearing that ending the program would be the wrong thing to do. "It's still helping a lot of people," Massad said. "Turning it back to the servicers would not be constructive at this time."