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Congressional Oversight Panel: Congressional Oversight Panel Releases Oversight Report on Foreclosure Mitigation

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Home > Press > Congressional Oversight Panel Releases Oversight Report on Foreclosure Mitigation

Congressional Oversight Panel Releases Oversight Report on
Foreclosure Mitigation
March 6, 2009

Report provides a road map for solving foreclosure crisis

For Immediate Release
WASHINGTON, D.C.—March 6, 2009, the Congressional Oversight Panel released its
March Oversight Report, The Foreclosure Crisis: Working Toward a Solution.
Like the crisis in the banking system, the foreclosure problem has grown so large that it
threatens the entire economy. Foreclosures are depressing housing and commercial real
estate prices throughout the country, imposing costs on those who are not even a party to
the mortgage transaction through lower tax revenues, increased crime and depressed home
prices.
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 required the Panel to look into the
current state of the foreclosure crisis and gauge the adequacy of current programs to
address the crisis. The Panel’s report examines the causes of the foreclosure crisis and the
impediments to its resolution and develops a checklist that provides a roadmap for
foreclosure mitigation program success.
“The foreclosure crisis seems to be getting deeper every day. Despite everyone’s good
intentions, nothing seems to be working. The Panel wanted to examine why this was the
case,” said Elizabeth Warren, Chair of the Panel. “We looked at the causes of the crisis and
the impediments to sensible foreclosure mitigation. We were able to create a roadmap for
policy makers to use to create successful programs to address this crisis.”
The Panel’s roadmap can be used by those who are developing programs to address
foreclosure mitigation whether they are local, state or federal policy makers or private
groups looking to help. Any successful program to address this crisis must address the
following issues:
Will the plan result in modifications that create affordable monthly payments?
Does the plan deal with negative equity?
Does the plan address junior mortgages?
Does the plan overcome obstacles in existing pooling and servicing agreements that
may prevent modifications?
Does the plan counteract mortgage servicer incentives not to engage in modifications?
Does the plan provide adequate outreach to homeowners?
Can the plan be scaled up quickly to deal with millions of mortgages?
Will the plan have widespread participation by lenders and servicers?
“By identifying current impediments to successful foreclosure mitigation efforts, the Panel

http://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/cop/20110401231707/http://cop.senate.gov/press/releases/release-030609-report.cfm[12/15/2015 12:57:03 PM]

Congressional Oversight Panel: Congressional Oversight Panel Releases Oversight Report on Foreclosure Mitigation

hopes to advance efforts for sensible modifications that will help put the American family
and the American economy back on a strong footing,” said Warren.
This report also includes an initial assessment of President Obama’s Homeowner
Affordability and Stability Plan, and outlines the extent to which it addresses many of the
impediments identified in the report.
The full report can be found at www.cop.senate.gov. The Panel held a companion hearing
to this report in Prince George’s County, Maryland, the materials from that hearing can be
found on the Panel’s website.
The Congressional Oversight Panel was created to oversee the expenditure of the Troubled
Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds authorized by Congress in the Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) and to provide recommendations on regulatory reform.
The Panel members are: Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Richard H. Neiman,
Superintendent of Banks for the State of New York, Damon Silvers, Associate General
Counsel of the AFL-CIO, former U.S. Senator John E. Sununu (R-NH) and Elizabeth
Warren, Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.
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