Can't refinance? Call your congressman

Last month, Republicans and conservative Democrats defeated a proposal by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., that would have given judges the power to lower mortgage payments for people declaring bankruptcy. President Barack Obama had once promised to help push the measure through Congress but backed off after banks warned that it would devastate the industry.

In the end, Obama signed a “Hope for Homeowners” bill that makes it easier for people to qualify for a program featuring government-insured mortgages. That program, however, relies on voluntary participation by lenders and so far has been largely unsuccessful.

Treasury officials say the program needs more time.

Meanwhile, more foreclosures are afflicting wealthier communities hit by job losses. Whereas the subprime crisis once seemed exclusive to minority communities like those in L.A. and Baltimore, defaults on prime fixed-rate loans — considered the least risky — have doubled in the past year, says the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The lack of a tough antidote has left congressional offices and banks alike flooded with requests by financially stressed homeowners. Banks sometimes agree to hold off on foreclosing while negotiating with the customer. But homeowners often say they can’t get through to talk to anyone at the bank who can help them.

Bank representatives say they are playing catch-up in the crisis.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said it recently added some 950 loan counselors to its staff and is hiring hundreds more each month. The bank also has set up a hot line designated solely for congressional staffers trying to ensure their constituents reach a loan counselor.

Other banks are trying as well to become more responsive to congressional offices. Cummings asked a dozen of the nation’s biggest banks to assign an employee to work directly with his office. Most agreed.

In March, Cummings hired a new staffer of his own to work foreclosure cases in his district. So far, the office has been able to help 18 homeowners and is working with some 120 more, according to a spokeswoman.

House ethics rules caution lawmakers about getting involved in private disputes, but don’t explicitly prohibit them from doing so.

Cummings and Waters say they have no choice but to intervene until the federal government is willing to do so.

Cummings said the mortgage crisis will lift. But he worries thousands more people will be homeless by then.

“It’s not whether the sun will come out,” he said. “It will. But the question is, what will the landscape look like when it does?”

More information

• Federal program for mortgage relief

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