Colorado Says No to Foreclosure-Prevention Bill

Every Republican on a Colorado House committee voted no last week to a bill that was to provide housing counseling and foreclosure-prevention services to families trying to hold on to their homes; while at the nation's capital mortgage servicers agreed to do better by homeowners facing foreclosure across the nation.

The rejection of the bill "sends a pretty clear message to Colorado's families: We know you're struggling, and, frankly, we don't care," said the bill's main sponsor, Representative Angela Williams (D-Denver).

The now-dead bill, which previously had received bipartisan support in two other committees, sought to charge lenders a $250 surcharge for each foreclosure filed at the county courthouse. The money was to go into a foreclosure-prevention counseling fund to pay for initiatives at local housing counseling agencies approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.