Washington, DC – February 19, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement after an announcement by the White House to provide $1.5 billion to five states for foreclosure prevention:
“President Obama’s decision to provide $1.5 billion from Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to assist homeowners in a select number of states is good news for some, but it falls far short of what is needed.
“For unexplained reasons, the new initiative skips some of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, such as Ohio. In Ohio, new foreclosure filings reached record levels in 2009, and are expected to get worse for 2010. In fact, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s most recent data, there are nearly 72,000 loans in Ohio that are more than 90 days past due and are receiving no relief. Making matters worse, Ohio already ranks 48th out of 50 states in terms of receiving any help from the Administration’s other major initiative, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). I cannot understand an oversight of this magnitude. This is not acceptable and it needs to be remedied.
“Next Thursday, my Domestic Policy Subcommittee will hold our tenth hearing since 2007 exploring the ongoing foreclosure crisis. I intend to ask the Administration about the reasons for this decision,” said Kucinich. The hearing will explore the changes needed to improve the Administration’s efforts to address the foreclosure crisis in this country. A Treasury official is scheduled to testify.
