All four Obama-era programs to supposedly help homeowners who are underwater on their loans have now been scrapped. Actually, the latest casualtiy - Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has been deactivated only by the House and looks safe in the senate.
But that doesn't lessen the fact that the president's efforts to confront the housing crisis has been an extraordinary failure.
Politico:
The loan program launched at the beginning of Barack Obama's presidency designed to aide millions of underwater homeowners. But since its launch, HAMP was dogged by inefficiencies, drawing harsh criticism from even the most ardent assistance supporters, including Democrats and members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The independent watchdogs charged with overseeing the program criticized it.
But even with House approval on a 252-170 vote, the legislation to pull the plug on the program likely will fail in the Senate and the White House already has said Obama would veto the bill if it were to reach his desk.In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee earlier this month, Troubled Asset Relief Program chief watchdog Neil Barofsky called HAMP "a program that only benefits a small portion of distressed homeowners, offers others little more than false hope, and in certain cases causes more harm than good." TARP funds help assist more than 200,000 homeowners through the program.
[...]
Before Congressional recess, the House voted to eliminate the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the FHA Refinance Program and the Emergency Homeowner Relief Fund.
Even after the loan modifications were made, it didn't help. Half of all participants in the program were delinquent again after a year.
Good riddance to bad policy.
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