Westmoreland Votes to Cut $1 Billion in Unnecessary Spending
Washington, DC – March 11, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Today the House of Representatives passed H.R. 836, the Emergency Homeowner Relief Program Termination Act. Congressman Westmoreland joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues to support this legislation. The bill terminates the Housing and Urban Development’s Emergency Homeowner Relief Program. The program was initially created in 1975, however not funded until last July with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act.
“By the Obama administration’s own estimate, 98 cents of every dollar allocated for this program would be wasted,” stated Westmoreland. “Our country currently has an almost 9% unemployment rate and more than $14 trillion in debt. Rather than spending $1 billion in taxpayer money on a program that is clearly wasteful and only increases our national debt, we should be focused on job creation and reigning in federal spending. That’s what the American people want.”
The Emergency Homeowner Relief Program was supposed to provide loans to unemployed borrowers who cannot afford to pay their mortgages because of unemployment or a reduction in their income. Since the program was enacted almost eight months ago, not a single dollar of the $1 billion set aside has been spent.
“Whenever you have a federally funded government program that’s been in effect for almost eight months without a single dime being spent, you know you have an ineffective program,” stated Westmoreland. “This program was just a continuation of President Obama’s failed housing programs; and on a broader scale, a continuation of their overall failed bailout policy. It needed to be terminated and the funds returned to pay down the national debt. I hope the Senate follows our lead and passes this legislation as well.”
The legislation passed the House by a vote of 242-177. The bill will now be sent to the Senate for their consideration. Congressman Westmoreland is a member of the House Financial Services Committee, the committee with jurisdiction over this legislation.
Contact:
Leslie Shedd 202-225-5901
