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2005 Press Release

ATTENTION: EDITORS / ASSIGNMENT EDITORS

Contact:
Robert Traynham, Office of U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum: 202-224-0610
Neil Cotiaux, FHLBank: 412-288-2851; cell: 330-703-0753


SANTORUM TO CONDUCT COMMUNITY FORUM IN LEBANON COUNTY: AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOUSING POLICY TO BE THE FOCUS TOMORROW

LEBANON, PA, July 5, 2005 — U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and officials of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank) will hold a Community Forum tomorrow, July 6, at 1:30 p.m. in Lebanon County. The meeting and facility tour will be conducted at Palmview, an affordable housing project for low-income and elderly individuals at 255 West North Avenue in Palmyra, PA.

Sen. Santorum will speak with several residents, then hold a housing forum onsite. He will be joined by Brian A. Hudson, executive director of PHFA; leaders of housing and redevelopment authorities in Lancaster, Lebanon and Reading as well as the counties of Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and Lebanon; and John J. Bendel, director of Community Investment at the FHLBank. Other participants will include area municipal leaders, affordable housing advocates, Habitat for Humanity representatives, area bankers, homebuilders and REALTORS©. In all, more than four dozen community leaders will attend.

The group will provide a status report on affordable housing in southcentral Pennsylvania, discuss private and public aid currently available to homebuyers, and respond to inquiries.

Sen. Santorum is a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

The FHLBank is a $61 billion wholesale bank that provides low-cost funding for affordable housing and community development to approximately 340 member financial institutions in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It is a strategic business partner for organizations that invest in housing-related assets in order to ensure the availability of funds for housing.

As part of its Affordable Housing Program (AHP), created in 1990, the FHLBank has awarded more than $10.5 million in affordable housing grants for 76 projects encompassing 2,250 units of housing and has also extended down payment and closing cost assistance to first-time homebuyers for the purchase of 481 homes across the counties of Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Schuylkill and York. In addition, the Bank has committed more than $1.6 million in funding through its Banking On Business (BOB) program and $36.9 million under its Community Lending Program (CLP) across the same area.

For more information, or to reserve a seat at the July 6 community forum, e-mail Brenda Lemmon or call 412-288-7307. Representatives of the news media are invited.

Directions

From Points West (Harrisburg/Carlisle/York):

• Interstate 83 North toward Hershey
• US 322 East toward Hershey
• US 422 East toward Lebanon (follow for 5½ miles)
• Left on North Locust Street
• Left on West North Avenue
  
• Arrive at Palmview, 255 West North Avenue

From Points South (Lancaster):

• PA 72 North toward Lebanon
• US 322 West (follow for 9 miles)
• Right on Palmyra Road
• Palmyra Road becomes Campbelltown Road
• Continue on Railroad Street
• Left on West North Avenue
• Arrive at Palmview, 255 West North Avenue

From Points East (Reading/Philadelphia):

• Interstate 76 West toward Harrisburg
• PA 72 (Exit 266) North toward Lebanon
• US 322 West (follow for 9 miles)
• Right on Palmyra Road
• Palmyra Road becomes Campbelltown Road
• Continue on Railroad Street
• Left on West North Avenue
• Arrive at Palmview, 255 West North Avenue

From Points North (Pottsville):

• PA 183 South
• Interstate 78 West toward Harrisburg
• PA 501 (Exit 13) south toward Bethel
• US 422 West (follow for 14 miles)
• Right on North Locust Street
• Left on West North Avenue
• Arrive at Palmview, 255 West North Avenue