Earlier this week, President Obama announced changes to a program designed to aide homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments. Our guest on Newsmakers is Edward DeMarco, Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), who discusses proposed changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and other refinancing programs. The administration hopes these moves will double the number of homeowners receiving aide for "under water" home loans.
However, the FHFA will not consider principal forgiveness or lowering of the amount borrowed, Mr. DeMarco tells reporters.
As for the fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Mr. DeMarco points out that the two mortgage guaranteers have been in conservancy for over 3 years and Congress and the President must act together to restore the housing market. "The longer this goes on, the harder it is for FHFA to know what to do," Mr. DeMarco says.
Mr. DeMarco is interviewed by Margaret Chadbourn, Housing Policy Reporter for Reuters, and Nick Timiraos, Housing Reporter for the Wall Street Journal.
Newsmakers airs Sunday at 10:00 am (ET) and 6:00 pm (ET) on C‑SPAN.