The Obama administration announced today an overhaul to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) that will make it easier for struggling homeowners to refinance their mortgages and take advantage of low interest rates.
The overhaul is one of several executive actions addressing America's economic woes to be announced by the administration this week, which is signaling to Republicans blocking Obama's jobs bill in Congress that “We Can't Wait” (as the White House stresses in its slogan for the president's latest strategy) for lawmakers to act on the economy.
Administration officials today laid out plans to adjust mortgage-refinancing programs that could help homeowners save around $2,500 a year.
“There is no question that lowering payments by $2,500 or more each year is something that will help more homeowners stay in their homes,” said administration housing secretary Shaun Donovan. “This will lower the number of foreclosures because we're lowering payments for folks who, at some point, will not have to make those payments.”
Donovan said the number of foreclosures in the United States has been reduced by a third since last year, partly due to government programs like HARP.
The changes announced today make more homeowners eligible for the program. Before the overhaul, homeowners who were more than 25 percent underwater with their mortgage payments were ineligible for the program. Officials could not estimate how many more homeowners would now participate in the program, however.
The overhaul also makes it cheaper to refinance and creates incentives for lenders that may otherwise be cautious of refinancing, creating more robust competition that will benefit homeowners.
National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling told reporters that the overhaul was not possible without cooperation with private lenders and banks, and that the overhaul will “unleash the competition” among lenders.
Later this week, President Obama will announce more executive actions, including a plan to help students pay off student loan debt. The executive programs fall under the “We Can't Wait” banner, part of the administration's effort to create as many economic reforms as possible without the help of legislation. Officials say much more could be done if Congress passes Obama's legislation aimed at creating jobs and rebuilding infrastructure.
Secretary Donovan, for example, said the biggest problem contributing to foreclosures is unemployment, so Congress must pass Obama's jobs bill.
“The American Jobs Act is a housing policy, as well,” Donovan said.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.