HAMP Revamp

HAMP Revamp

House Republicans introduced a bill in January to end HAMP, the Obama administration's main foreclosure-prevention effort, calling the White House program a "colossal failure."

Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) introduced the bill to terminate the Treasury Department's Home Affordable Modification Program immediately. He was joined by Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Patrick McHenry (R., N.C.).

Critics say the government hasn't been aggressive enough in preventing foreclosures. The government should do more, they say, to press banks to write down principal balances to assist homeowners who owe far more on their properties than their homes are worth.

Only 522,000 homeowners were enrolled in HAMP loan modifications and were making payments on time as of the end of last month, the Treasury Department said. That is far short of the original goal of helping as many as four million homeowners.

About 793,000 homeowners, or roughly 54% of the nearly 1.5 million who have enrolled since spring 2009, have dropped out of the program.