The One Hundredth Eleventh Congress is starting off on the right foot:

Legislation designed to stem foreclosures by allowing bankruptcy judges to erase some mortgage debt will be introduced by Congressional Democrats on Tuesday, and hopes are high that it will pass after a similar plan failed last year.

Democrats in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate plan to introduce the legislation.

If it passes, this legislation will allow bankruptcy judges to rewrite the terms of mortgages held by bankruptcy filers, potentially preventing thousands of people from losing their homes. The bill is being shepherded forward by Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) in the House and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in the Senate. President-elect Obama supported the legislation last year and can be expected to sign the bill if it passes this year.