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42 | M R EP O RT FEATURE "We put together a program that used a marriage of incentive theory and consumer marketing to bring those programs to homeowners who needed them, before they knew they needed them. That was the hallmark of the program." their veterans, particularly home- less veterans. Some of them are there because they can't afford a home, some are homeless because of mental issues. Regardless, it's our responsibility that if someone goes overseas, or even stays here, and fights for our country, fights for our citizens, it is incumbent upon us to take care of them. Going back to my Responsible Homeowner Reward Program, we had a special program that we launched just for veterans. We know that veterans are great payers on their mortgag- es—they're great homeowners. They're very generous with their time. They're very generous with their homes, but when you look at what we're seeing, for example, folks coming across the border. I think the optic of being able to give somebody who crosses the border illegally opportunities for healthcare, opportunities for educa- tion, and opportunities for shelter. They're giving people who cross the border opportunities for shelter, but we're not actively seeking to take our homeless veterans and put them in a better position. One of the committees that I've asked to be on, should I be lucky enough to win this election in November, is our Veteran's Committee. One homeless veteran, is one too many. I know one of your signature accomplishments was the Responsible Homeowner Reward Program, back during the last crisis. Could you talk a little bit about what that did, and also any lessons that you took away from that program that you can apply going forward? T hank you, in a 28-year private sector career, that program was the highlight of my career, personally. We stepped into a market that was clearly in trouble. We provided a program that, free to the homeowner, helped guide them toward government and pri- vate-sector assistance programs to get help. When we walked out of the crisis, there were hundreds and hundreds of programs that were made available, both government and non-government programs. It's tough enough filling out these other applications where you need relief. In some cases, it could take days, weeks, or months. We put together a program that used a marriage of incentive theory and consumer marketing to bring those programs to homeowners who needed them, before they knew they needed them. That was the hallmark of the program. It's one of the reasons we won a Time Magazine Award. We used the same strategies that credit card companies use when they provide rewards. We used the same strate- gies that create and find incentives, and disincentives for why borrow- ers and consumers do things. We knew that it would be in every- one's best interest to keep a strug- gling homeowner in their home. We also know that they may not be in a position to be able to afford those homes and make those mortgage payments. We worked very closely with the owners of the risk, the banks, and the government to show them that the risk/reward profile of giving a borrower earned principal forgiveness, in times of great negative equity, worked to everyone's benefit. We saw reductions in default rates of over 50%. We were able to take borrowers who wanted to stay in their home and create a series of low-priced alternatives and incentives to keep them there, at no cost to the borrower. We helped more than 10,000 veter- ans stay in their homes, without charging them. We helped more than 150,000 other homeowners— and not just homeowners, but owners of student loan borrow- ers, second-lien borrowers who thought that they had no time, that they had no opportunity to get themselves out of the situation they were in. We came in and said, "We can help you find an opportunity. We can get you to the finish line." That's something I think about every single day, and when we're elected to Congress, I want everyone who has the opportu- nity to own a home, and has the wherewithal and understands it's a privilege, to buy a home. But also, somebody who's struggling for whatever reason, whether it's something that happened to them personally or something that's going on in the economy, we want to give them the opportunity to stay in that home.