STEVE INSKEEP, host: NPR's business news starts with the struggle to help homeowners.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: The government is still not having much effect in its effort to help people in trouble with their mortgages. That's the essence of a report out today from a congressional watchdog. The Treasury Department has allotted tens of billions of dollars to prevent foreclosures. But the Congressional Oversight Panel - which monitors bailout spending - says that by the end of March only 230,000 households had been helped.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: That figure is up from the previous month but it barely makes a dent in the nearly eight million households believed to be behind in their mortgage payments or in the foreclosure process.
The government is still not having much impact on its effort to help people in trouble with their mortgages. That's the gist of a report from a congressional watchdog released Tuesday. The Treasury Department has allotted tens of billions of dollars to prevent foreclosures. But the Congressional Oversight Panel — which monitors bailout spending — says that by the end of March, only 230,000 households had been helped.