The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

With the number of foreclosures still rising around the country, the Senate is expected to consider a bill this week that would help millions of struggling homeowners keep their homes.

The House of Representatives passed their version of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act on March 5, but a provision that will give bankruptcy judges the ability to rework defaulted home mortgages on family homes to an affordable value has drawn stiff opposition from some senators and the banking and mortgage industries, preventing the Senate from voting on the bill more quickly.

Recent data on foreclosures shows that the crisis is far from over.  According to RealtyTrac, the number of foreclosure filings in the first quarter of 2009 increased nine percent from the previous quarter, and 24 percent from the first quarter of 2008.

More than three million homeowners are projected to default on their mortgages this year and more than two million are expected to lose their homes, according to Moody's Economy.