Contact: John Hartgen
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CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT SHOULD END HAMP, ACCORDING TO LATEST ABI QUICK POLL

 
May 11, 2011, Alexandria, Va.— A majority of respondents (65 percent) in a recent American Bankruptcy Institute Quick Poll thought that Congress and President Obama should end rather than mend the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Fifty percent 'strongly agreed' and 15 percent somewhat agreed that HAMP should be terminated rather than modified.
 
In an effort to help struggling homeowners achieve mortgage modifications on their underwater homes, the Obama Administration created HAMP in the spring of 2009 with the goal of helping 3-4 million homeowners receive more sustainable mortgage loans. However, only about 670,000 permanent mortgage modifications to date have been started under the plan. HAMP modifications are not holding up well either as many trial modifications lapse into redefault. As the plan has repeatedly missed its targets, HAMP has come under fire on Capitol Hill, with House lawmakers voting earlier this year to end the HAMP program. Meanwhile, more than 6 million homes have been lost in foreclosure.
 
Thirty percent of respondents did not think that Congress and the President should end HAMP. Three percent did not know or had no opinion on the poll question.
 
ABI’s Quick Poll is posted on ABI’s home page, www.abiworld.org. ABI members and the public are invited to respond to a question on a timely bankruptcy or insolvency issue. Visit http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/ to access the results of previous ABI Quick Polls. 

 
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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes over 13,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.