Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced a bill Thursday that would force the largest banks and hedge funds to pay for two programs that provide mortgage assistance and vacant property cleanup. According to the bill, these funds would pay for the Department of Housing and Urban Development‘s Emergency Homeowner Loan Program and the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The House of Representatives voted to terminate both programs this week, claiming the U.S. government could no longer afford such subsidies. EHLP was set to take applications this spring. Through it, HUD provides up to $50,000 in interest free loans to assist the unemployed with their mortgage payments for up to 24 months. HUD has provided roughly $6 billion in NSP grants to nonprofits, local and state governments to buy, rehab and resell previously foreclosed and abandoned property. Republicans voted to cut the remaining $1 billion yet to be spent. Frank’s bill would deliver the tab, roughly $2.5 billion for these two programs to financial institutions with $50 billion or more in assets and hedge funds with at least $10 billion in assets under management. As Republicans continue to move against such programs with the notion that the government should not pay for it, Democrats are taking up the strategy of charging banks. A California state assemblyman introduced a bill recently that would charge lenders $20,000 for every foreclosure they conduct in the state. Rep. Spencer Bachus’ (R-Ala.) office, which led the charge to end these programs, did not immediately respond to requests for comments on Frank’s bill. Write to Jon Prior. Follow him on Twitter: @JonAPrior