Nehemiah Addresses President Bush: Save Seller-Funded Downpayment Assistance

Eliminating Seller-Funded Downpayment Assistance Programs will Negatively Impact Generations to Come

Sacramento, CA — July 28, 2008

The following statement was issued by Scott Syphax, president and CEO of The Nehemiah Corporation of America, in response to Congress passing the much debated Housing Bill to President Bush for approval, which would end seller-funded downpayment assistance.

"It is a sad day for America when our elected officials pledge their allegiance not to the hardworking families who drive this country, but to bailing out special interests and Wall Street firms who in fact created this housing crisis. As evidenced by the actions of Congress on Saturday and the Housing Bill being passed to the President, it is clear the thousands upon thousands of pleas made by families and non profit groups have fallen on the deaf ears of Senators Shelby and Dodd, and those of our Administration. HUD has spent more than ten years fighting to shut us down rather than work with us to determine how to improve a downpayment assistance program that has help more than 1,000,000 American families. Our leaders are ignoring a basic fact: seller-funded downpayment assistance is the only remaining safety net available to millions of families today seeking home ownership. Killing these programs will not only negatively impact generations of low-to-moderate income Americans who would have been able to use homeownership as a tool to create wealth, stature and self esteem, but to our economy as a whole. President Bush, we strongly urge you to send the Bill back to Congress and not to succumb to the pressure to sign a disastrous Housing Bill at the expense of America's working families."

SOURCE Nehemiah Corporation of America

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For additional information, please contact Shelley Mitchell, smitchell@nehemiahcorp.org, 916-231-1999.

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