HUD pays $42 million to teach homeowners to pay bills

Posted by Jim Hoft on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 5:38 AM

Gateway Pundit:

Your tax dollars at work…
The Housing and Urban Development Department is spending $42 million in federal funding for “housing counseling.” The money is going to far left groups, including La Raza, for free assistance on foreclosure avoidance. The groups will also offer services to help combat predatory lending practices.

The New American reported:

The Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) is doling out $42 millionin federal funding for housing counseling grants to 468 local, regional, and national organizations. Intended to prevent foreclosures and assist new home buyers, the grants will offer free assistance on foreclosure avoidance as well as educate buyers on how to rent or purchase a home. HUD alleges that beneficiaries of these services will help combat predatory lending practices, because buyers will be equipped with information to help them evade mortgage scams, high interest rates, and unreasonably high appraisals.

“The HUD-approved counseling agencies this funding supports are crucial in helping struggling families on a one-to-one basis to manage their money, navigate the homebuying process, and secure their financial futures,” asserted HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Housing counseling works for families that are in need, but also for entire neighborhoods and our housing market more broadly.”

The funding stems from the fiscal 2012 budget that reinstated HUD-approved counseling services after Congress slashed such funding in 2011. According to HUD, the funding supplements the $2.5 billion supplied to states for housing programs as an extension of the federal government’s $25-billion mortgage servicing settlement.

A handful of those “HUD-approved” organizations include high-profile liberal activist groups. One of the organizations, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) — which in Spanish means “the Race” — harvested roughly $1.7 million from the federal housing agency. The largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group in the nation, the NCLR works on a myriad of social and economic issues pertaining to the Hispanic community, including labor, housing, education, and healthcare.