House Votes to End Mortgage Relief Program

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The House of Representatives voted 242-177 to approve H.R. 836, the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program Termination Act that would end a Department of Housing Urban and Development program which provides loans or credit advances to some unemployed borrowers who cannot pay their mortgages. During debate on the bill, Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., noted “This bill stops a $1 billion failed spending program. Now it’s a well-intentioned program. But just as the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so is the road to higher deficits and higher national debt.” Committee Vice-Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said, “The nation is drowning in a sea of red ink. If we want to help job creators create jobs today we’ve got to start taking away the uncertainty of this huge national debt. The best foreclosure mitigation program in America is a job. If we can’t terminate ineffective programs in order to save our children from bankruptcy and help create jobs, how are we going to make the tough decisions that are necessary to save the country from bankruptcy?”