Not to beat a dead horse here, but here is another response from a Maryland Senator.  It is a shame that congress has NO idea what they actually voted for.  I know they get tons of emails, but could they at least read them if they are going to respond?  I have not seen one competent response from a public official on this matter yet.

"Dear Mr. Lowery: 

Thanks for writing to express your support for down payment assistance programs in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act. It's great to hear from you.

Families across Maryland are facing a code red emergency. They're struggling to keep their homes, or become homeowners, while the nation faces a subprime mortgage crisis. These families aren't Wall Street investors playing the housing market to make a quick buck; they're Main Street Americans trying to raise a family in a decent home and a safe community.

Building equity through home ownership is a big part of the American dream. I strongly support making the benefits of homeownership available to as many Americans as possible, and I'm committed to working with congressional leaders to ease the burden on families. The Housing and Economic Act will help families stay in their homes and help prevent foreclosure in the future, which is why I support it.

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act was recently passed by Congress and the President has signed it into law. Knowing of your views was very helpful to me, and I will keep them in mind if any further legislation comes before the Senate.

Thanks again for getting in touch with me. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you in the future.

Sincerely,
Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator


P.S. If I can be of further assistance in the future,
please visit my website at http://mikulski.senate.gov
or call my Washington D.C. office at 202-224-4654 "

And here was my response:

Thank you for responding to my email.   From your response, I am not sure if you actually read my email.  I am also in favor of building equity through home ownership.  I also support making the benefits of home ownership available to as many Americans as possible.  However, how does the elimination of down payment assistance programs, like Nehemiah, Ameridream, and Genesis help?  The elimination of the programs will actually eliminate the dream for hundreds of thousands of homeowners.    

With proper use, these are excellent programs that assist people to achieve the dream of home ownership.  Without it, I fear we will be thrust even further into a distressed housing market.

The rest of the bill was excellent, however, this one section of the bill will be devistating.  I hope you look into it and read up on the elimination of the down payment assistance programs.  There are other alternatives like stricter guidelines for these programs, but complete elimination of them is a huge mistake.

Best wishes,  

Bob Lowery