The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a statement on March 11 opposing the House of Representatives passage of the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program Termination Act (H.R. 836), which would terminate funding for one of several housing relief programs under scrutiny by the House.

“The Emergency Homeowners Loan Program will provide relief to tens of thousands of families who are still struggling to make ends meet after the deepest economic recession and housing crisis in a generation,” the HUD statement said. “The Obama Administration is committed to helping struggling homeowners stay in their homes and taking the steps needed to stabilize the housing market, and ending this program would mean the loss of an important lifeline for those families and risk damaging the fragile recovery we’re finally starting to see in the housing market. It would be irresponsible and should be opposed.”

H.R. 836 is one of two bills passed last week by the Committee on Financial Services that aim to end similar housing relief programs. The Finance Committee has said cutting such programs could save $30 billion in government spending.

The Obama Administration issued a statement in response to such measures stating that President Obama would veto any such anti-housing relief bills that make it to his desk.

View HUD’s statement.

Written by Elizabeth Ecker