RIVERDALE, MD – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) joined U.S Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and members of the Maryland housing counseling community today for a press conference to discuss recently announced increased funding for housing counseling, continuing their work to improve affordable housing for America’s families.

On July 27, HUD announced that $79 million is available for a broad range of housing counseling programs to help families find and preserve housing. The available funding is an increase of $21 million, or 36%, over last year. These grants will be awarded competitively to hundreds of HUD-approved counseling agencies and State Housing Finance Agencies across the nation that offer a variety of services to citizens, including how to avoid foreclosure, how to avoid mortgage scams, how to purchase or rent a home, how to improve credit scores, and how to qualify for a reverse mortgage.

Below are Congressman Hoyer’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

“The past few years have been very difficult for many Americans, and I know housing counselors have interacted firsthand with people who have experienced great difficulty.

“During the last 3 months of the Bush Administration, we lost, on average, 726,000 jobs.  In the last 3 months, we have lost, on average, 57,000 jobs.  Over the last 18 months, we have made significant progress in addressing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. We did so by passing the Recovery Act and by providing direct assistance to the unemployed.  We continue so by creating incentives for our small businesses to hire the unemployed through payroll tax holidays, by providing opportunities for states to borrow for infrastructure projects, and by investing in our manufacturing infrastructure through the ‘Make it in America’ initiative.

“Moving forward, we will continue to address job creation and help Americans get back to work. The picture for the housing market has been, unfortunately, less rosy.  While analysts say the housing market has improved considerably, there are still 6 million borrowers who are late on their mortgages by 60 days or longer.

“As of the end of June, the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, had facilitated about 400,000 active permanent modifications.  While these numbers have grown since the program began one year ago, the fact is they are not as high as we would like. I know the public is frustrated with these results, and I share their frustration.  But we must persist because preventing foreclosures is necessary to improving our long-term economic stability. 

“That is why I am pleased to stand here with Secretary Donovan to announce the Department’s increased commitment to improving access to housing counselors for those at risk of foreclosure. There are many different circumstances which have led families into this crisis—but it is clear housing counselors have played a vital role in providing guidance to help borrowers make more sound financial decisions. So it is important that we assist professionals who will directly help borrowers avoid conditions that might cause them to fall behind on their mortgages again.

“In closing, I want to say thank you to Maryland housing counselors for their efforts. The interactions you have with homeowners and prospective homeowners are enormously helpful.  You give options to consumers; you give them a fuller picture of what is available to them and what can be done to improve their situations.”

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