On July 9, the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held an oversight hearing on whether voluntary modification efforts, including the Obama Administration's Home Affordability Modification Program (HAMP) are sufficient to stem the tide of foreclosures. NACBA member Irwin Trauss, of Philadelphia Legal Assistance, testified on behalf of NACBA. Irwin testified regarding what he has seen as overall supervisor of the Save Your Home Philly Hotline, which has handled over 10,000 calls from homeowners facing foreclosure, and as one of the creators of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Foreclosure Diversion Program. Irwin testified regarding numerous examples of servicers ignoring the requirements of HAMP, sometimes telling homeowners they were not even eligible to apply, and often telling them that their applications were denied for reasons that did not comply with the program guidelines (when they were even told they were denied before the foreclosure sale was to take place.) He also described the deficiencies in the program describing the many types of borrowers it does not even purport to help. Irwin concluded his testimony by stating that "absent significant leverage on the part of homeowners to force a change in behavior, the majority of servicers will continue to find ways to avoid meaningful modifications despite HAMP. The only way to change their behavior to the extent required to make meaningful modifications common is to provide the homeowner with leverage over the servicer, such as the threat of a bankruptcy judge imposing a modification. The availability of such an option for homeowners would likely complement voluntary programs such as HAMP and the Diversion Program and substantially increase the chances that meaningful long lasting modifications will result." NACBA extends its thanks to Irwin for his testimony, which found a very interested audience in the subcommittee.