gretchen morgenson? guest: this is an aspect of the loan modification process that has been very troubling. what sometimes happens is the bank will take advantage of the fact -- they will tell you to be late, to not pay, and then they will foreclose. i havereally really -- heard many stories of this type of situation. it really is not the right approach to take. that is something that you really ought to question. if that is the remedy that the again, theseng -- are complex issues, a lot of legalities involved. you have to, if you can, try to go to a legal aid organization which provides low cost or no cost legal assistance to help you go through these programs. host: is there supposed to be a federal agency that is your legal aid, that helps you navigate this with the banks? is there a watchdog? guest: know, there's really not a watchdog. the treasury is supposed to police the program, oversee it because the loan servicers -- the treasury was the kind of conduit for the program, the ones who created the

gretchen morgenson? guest: this is an aspect of the loan modification process that has been very troubling. what sometimes happens is the bank will take advantage of the fact -- they will tell you to be late, to not pay, and then they will foreclose. i havereally really -- heard many stories of this type of situation. it really is not the right approach to take. that is something that you really ought to question. if that is the remedy that the again, theseng -- are complex issues, a lot of legalities involved. you have to, if you can, try to go to a legal aid organization which provides low cost or no cost legal assistance to help you go through these programs. host: is there supposed to be a federal agency that is your legal aid, that helps you navigate this with the banks? is there a watchdog? guest: know, there's really not a watchdog. the treasury is supposed to police the program, oversee it because the loan servicers -- the treasury was the kind of conduit for the program, the ones who created the

gretchen morgenson? >> this is an aspect of the loan modification process that has been very troubling, because what sometimes happens is the bank will take advantage of the fact -- they will tell you to be late, tell you not to pay, and then they will foreclose, and it's really, really -- i have heard chapter and verse many, many stories of this type of a situation and it really is not the right approach to take, so that is something that is -- you really ought to question if that's the remedy that the bank is saying, again, these are very complex issues, a lot of legalities involved, and if you can try to go to a legal aid organization which provides low costs or no costs, legal assistance to help you go through these programs. >> is there supposed to be a federal agency that is your legal aid that is supposed to help you navigate this with the banks? they are a watchdog? >> there's really not a watchdog. the treasury is supposed to police the program, the treasury is supposed to oversee it because the

. >>> on our next washington journal, gretchen morgenson joins us. looking at some of the shortcomings of the home loan modification program, which was set up to help homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments. then susan carlson of the minnesota organization on fetal alcohol syndrome about a new study examining drinking and drug use among pregnant teenagers. a after that, john jackson of conservation force talks about endangered species and big game hunting. plus, your phone calls, facebook, comments and tweets. washington journal is live each morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >>> this sunday night on q&a. institute neuer policy studies fellow and anti-war activist phyllis bennis on u.s. foreign policy since 9/11. the war on terrorism. >> who is isis? what are their origins? why are they so violent? all of those are important. and i address them all in the book. but i think what's more important because it's something we can do something about is what is the u.s. policy regarding isis? why isn't it working? can we really go to war a