Mortgage Relief, or More Delay?

According to a draft proposal obtained by the Wall Street Journal and some others, the Treasury Dept. is toying with the idea of giving distressed homeowners 30 days to respond to a mortgage lender after being turned down for a mortgage modification---you know, the type most folks haven't been able to obtain anyway.

During the 30-day response period, while the homeowner is presumably appealing the decision, the home could not be put up for sale at auction.
(Servicers would also have to provide written certification that a borrower isn't eligible for HAMP before a foreclosure can proceed).

With so many homeowners "underwater" and vulnerable to foreclosure, Is delay the answer? Treasury officials apparently thinks so.