BROOKLYN, NY – Today, Representative Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement after the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced an extension of the Making Home Affordable Program through December 31, 2015.

“We have a responsibility to protect our communities from the threat of foreclosure,” said Representative Clarke. “In addition to the families that are displaced, foreclosure also harms other residents of the neighborhood by reducing property values and preventing the recovery of the market in houses.”

Since the program was introduced in 2009, almost 1.3 million homeowners have received assistance, such as the modification of their mortgages to reduce their monthly payment and prevent foreclosure. Modifications under this program have a much lower rate of delinquency and re-default, compared with modifications by banks and other private lenders.

In addition, the program includes several important protections for homeowners, such as a requirement that lenders inform families about options for modification before referring the mortgage for foreclosure.

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations; Ethics; and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents several neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which includes Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, Ocean Hill, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.