Kaufman’s first hearing as the Panel’s chair on October 21, 2010, addressed executive compensation. Entities that received financial assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) were given restrictions on the amount they could compensate their executives. In another hearing held later that month to address the TARP Foreclosure Mitigation Program, Kaufman commented that the president’s 2009 goal to help three to four million homeowners avoid foreclosure was “modest compared to the boldness shown in rescuing AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bank of America, Citigroup, and the auto companies.” At that hearing, Kaufman pressed witnesses with questions about the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), a program of the Departments of the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development intended to help home owners struggling with mortgage payments.
