Nehemiah Corporation of America Comments on HUD Secretary Jackson's Resignation

SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is in
response to HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson's resignation, to become effective
April 18, 2008.
"Secretary Jackson's resignation, announced today, provides HUD with an
opportunity to constructively move closer to its mission of increasing access
to housing void of discrimination. Private down payment assistance programs
such as the Nehemiah Program have been instrumental in carrying HUD's message
and mission into the low and moderate income communities. We look forward to
working with another designee of the Administration, who will hopefully take a
more constructive role in supporting programs that today, are the only option
available to hundreds of thousands of Americans seeking home ownership. It is
incredible that in the end, Nehemiah bore the enormous costs of litigating a
clearly unfair, biased and ultimately illegal rule that HUD tried to
promulgate. Nehemiah is delighted to welcome the opportunity to rebuild a
stronger relationship with HUD under a new Secretary, revisiting the role down
payment assistance plays in working toward the mutually shared goal of
enabling working class Americans to move away from financial oppression and
into their own homes."
- Scott Syphax, President and CEO of Nehemiah Corporation of America, the
largest and oldest private down payment assistance provider.
To date, privately-funded down payment assistance programs have helped
over 600,000 families become homeowners, and have been credited not only for
helping people buy homes, but also stabilizing neighborhoods and cities and
creating stronger families.
SOURCE Nehemiah Corporation of America

Amanda Kiely of Sloane & Company, +1-212-446-1896, for Nehemiah Corporation of
America