PHOENIX, Ariz. – ACORN members are celebrating President Obama's announcement today of the "Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan," the first federal effort to fight foreclosures since the crisis that brought down the economy began two years ago.

For years, ACORN has been advocating repeal of the ban on judicial modifications, a central plank in the Obama plan that Congress should immediately take up in a must-pass bill and get to the President in March. Obama also proposes administrative actions to spend $75 billion of the Financial Stabilization Fund on facilitating modifications and to require companies receiving taxpayer assistance to use a rational foreclosure prevention protocol to prevent unnecessary foreclosures. These three planks are absolutely essential to repair our economy and are exactly what ACORN called for in its memo to the Obama Transition in January, "Housing for America: A Roadmap out of the Crisis."

"Finally, a President who is a friend of homeowners when it counts," said Bertha Lewis, ACORN CEO. "With 8 to 9 million Americans on the verge of losing their homes in the next four years, the nation's housing crisis demands leadership commensurate with its enormous scale, and we got that today from the Obama Administration. These effective sticks and carrots will do the job that the previous all-voluntary efforts have failed to do, and help prevent millions of unnecessary foreclosures once fully operational and enacted in law.  Until that time, however, there should not be a single foreclosure on any family that could benefit from this comprehensive housing plan, so we need a thorough, binding moratorium."

More specifics will be needed as the plan rolls out, especially regarding assurances that the modifications of mortgages are truly affordable and based on the borrower's ability to repay.  Already today, many essential elements that ACORN called for in Housing for America have already been announced by Obama as elements of his housing rescue plan:

• Lift the ban on judicial modifications for primary residences
• Require foreclosure prevention protocols from recipients of taxpayer assistance
• Fix Hope for Homeowners by streamlining and broadening eligibility requirements
• Utilize $75 billion to facilitate mortgage modifications to affordable payments
• Strengthen Fannie and Freddie to facilitate affordable refinancing of loans

"President Obama today has laid out a foreclosure prevention strategy that will finally put the full power of the federal government behind homeowners trying to pay the mortgage and neighborhoods reeling from the crisis," Lewis said. "It is imperative that all lenders participate and agree to higher standards, and that Congress quickly pass the bankruptcy legislation. With a family losing their home every 13 seconds, there is no time to waste. This important housing package is an urgent sequel to the jobs and recovery plan signed into law just yesterday."

ACORN is building support for the Obama plan across the country, and helping families who could benefit the plan stay in their homes and stop evictions or foreclosures until the program is fully implemented and helping modify loans en masse.  See today's New York Times story on ACORN's foreclosure organizing here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/nyregion/18foreclose.html.