National Press Club Releases '100 Key Dates in NPC History'

Karl Erik Gustafsson, Professor of Mass Media Economics at Sweden’s Jonkoping University, participated in an NPC Centennial symposium on the future for journalism in the public interest in the club’s Holeman Lounge. The event was sponsored by the Eric Friedheim Library and the Missouri School of Journalism.

The television premiere of "The National Press Club at 100: A Century of Headlines," an hour-long documentary film, is at 10 p.m. on Monday, March 31, on WETA Channel 26.

More details.


30 Mar 2008 17:00 Africa/Lagos


National Press Club Releases '100 Key Dates in NPC History'

WASHINGTON, March 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- From a meeting at the storied bar of the Willard Hotel, through speeches from presidents and other world leaders, to battles over the admission of women and blacks, the National Press Club has been a Washington institution since its founding in 1908.


Beginning March 31, the Club will celebrate its 100 years of history with events that culminate with a gala on April 5.


The NPC compiled an array of historic moments in the Club's life to assist reporters and editors working on articles related to the Club during its Centennial.


The National Press Club continues its tradition as the center of news and information in Washington. Widely recognized for the National Press Club luncheon speakers series, the Club is the foremost venue for press conferences in D.C. While still a meeting place for journalists and news sources, the Club has positioned itself as a full-service facility for the researching, reporting and disseminating of news. Well beyond the card room and barroom of 1908, the modern National Press Club has a state-of-the-art broadcast studio and an expanding array of training programs to serve the Club's 3,700 members in Washington and worldwide.


The National Press Club 1908 - 2008


March 12, 1908 - First meeting to establish the National Press Club at 4.30 p.m. in the Willard Hotel.


March 29, 1908 - National Press Club Constitution adopted at the Willard Hotel.


May 2, 1908 - First day of business at the Club's first home at 1205 F St.


May 18, 1908 - National Press Club's grand opening celebration includes Wild West star Buffalo Bill.


December 23, 1908 - A lit cigarette thrown in a wastebasket sparks a fire at 1205 F St., but the poker game continues despite smoke, fire and firemen.


March 20, 1909 - NPC moves to its second home at 15th and F Streets.


January 31, 1910 - President William Howard Taft is the first U.S. president to visit the Club.


February 7, 1911 - Actress Sarah Bernhardt speaks at the National Press Club.


February 14, 1912 - Magician and escape artist Harry Houdini visits the National Press Club.


March 6, 1914 - NPC moves to its third home in the Albee-Riggs Building on 15th Street.


March 20, 1914 - President Woodrow Wilson attends the NPC Housewarming Party.


April 3, 1915 - One of the first transcontinental phone calls is made from the NPC by William Jennings Bryan.


May 16, 1916 - President Woodrow Wilson warns of U.S. involvement in the Great War while speaking at the NPC.


June 30, 1919 - Prohibition begins at midnight in the District of Columbia, and the NPC sells beer and fine liquors to members for little to nothing.


September 23, 1919 - Cora Rigby proposes a Women's National Press Club.


December 15, 1921 - President Warren G. Harding, a Club member, casts his vote in an NPC election.


January 6, 1926 - Ebbitt Hotel is razed to make way for the National Press Building.


April 7, 1926 - President Calvin Coolidge lays the cornerstone for the National Press Building.


June 11, 1927 - A reception is held by the NPC for Charles Lindbergh after his trans-Atlantic flight.


August 25, 1927 - First tenant moves into the National Press Building.

September 19, 1927 - The Fox Theater opens in the National Press Building.


1928 - Italian dictator Benito Mussolini applies for NPC membership but is rejected.


February 4, 1928 - National Press Building is dedicated.


November 22, 1932 - First official National Press Club Luncheon held in the ballroom. The guest was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.


March 2, 1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the 21st Amendment; the NPC bar is the first to re-open its doors and is granted liquor license #1.


November 21, 1935 - Political pollster George Gallup speaks at the National Press Club, and revolutionizes polling by correctly predicting the winners of the 1936 election by only polling 5,000 while Literary Digest was incorrect after polling 2 million.


January 26, 1938 - First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt becomes a member of the Women's National Press Club.


February 10, 1945 - Movie star Lauren Bacall is photographed perched atop a piano at the NPC while Vice President Harry Truman plays the piano.


February 5, 1948 - Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower announces his retirement at the NPC.


January 12, 1950 - Secretary of State Dean Acheson outlines an American "defense perimeter" in the Far East that excludes Korea.


1953 - Ted Koop is the first broadcast journalist elected president of NPC and leads a contract to air condition the main dining room, lounge and ballroom.


September 11, 1953 - Crown prince Akihito of Japan visits the NPC.


February 7, 1955 - Louis R. Lautier becomes the first African American admitted to the NPC.


February 23, 1955 - Female journalists, barred from the ballroom to cover NPC luncheon speakers, are permitted to work from the ballroom balcony.


January 14, 1959 - First live radio and television conference is held by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, lasing 50 minutes.


April 20, 1959 - Cuban leader Fidel Castro appears at the National Press Club.


September 16, 1959 - Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev demands that women be allowed to attend his luncheon speech at the NPC.


January 28, 1961 - President John F. Kennedy receives his membership card and is the last U.S. president to pay dues to NPC.


July 19, 1962 - Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at the National Press Club.


November 22, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. The memorial at the NPC remained in place for all 30 days of official mourning.


January 27, 1964 - Margaret Chase Smith announces her candidacy for president in a speech to the Women's National Press Club.


March 4, 1964 - President Lyndon Johnson unexpectedly announces at a Women's National Press Club dinner the appointment of 10 women to major positions in his new administration, two of them WNPC members. There is television and front page coverage of the event.


May 11, 1964 - Female journalists are allowed to report from the ballroom floor during NPC luncheons; Club officials reverse the decision 11 days later.


December 8, 1970 - WNPC votes 113 to 6 to admit men and changes its name to the Washington Press Club.


January 15, 1971 - NPC votes 227 to 56 to admit women.


January 29, 1971 - Louis Armstrong performs in public for the last time at the inauguration of Vernon Louviere.


March 3, 1971 - 24 women become the first female members of the National Press Club.


February 9, 1973 - Jimmy Carter announces he is running for president at the NPC.


October 19, 1973 - Walter Cronkite, Club member since 1948, is the recipient of the first Fourth Estate award.


August 27, 1976 - Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton spar playfully in the hall outside the NPC ballroom.


January 9, 1979 - Hugh Heffner and his Playboy bunnies bring in a sell-out crowd of 800.


November 18, 1981 - President Ronald Reagan gives his arms reduction and nuclear weapons speech.


February 10, 1982 - Vivian Vahlberg becomes the first female president of the NPC.


June 5, 1982 - "Wrecker's Ball" celebrates the start of the renovation of the NPC.


July 30, 1984 - Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam leader, addresses the Club at a luncheon. The public outrage included Theodore White retuning his Fourth Estate Award in protest.


October 22, 1984 - The Fourth Estate Restaurant opens on the 13th floor.

April 29, 1985 - The Washington Press Club and National Press Club merge.


November 6, 1989 - Polish Leader Lech Walesa declares the end of the Cold War at NPC.


July 9, 1990 - Eric Friedheim makes a $1 million bequest to the NPC Library.


June 20, 1991 - At the NPC, Soviet leader Boris Yeltsin declares "There will be no turning back from the path Russia has chosen."


July 25, 1991 - Friends of the National Journalism Library is established as a 501(c)3 to support the library and its programs.


March 16, 1992 - Broadcast journalist Dan Rather launches Freedom of Information Day festivities.


March 18, 1992 - At an NPC speech, H. Ross Perot announces he is running for U.S. president.


September 14, 1993 - Israeli leader Yasser Arafat is a luncheon speaker.


September 24, 1994 - The First Kalb Report, sponsored with George Washington University, is aired from the NPC.


October 7, 1994 - South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, speaks at an NPC luncheon.


April 3, 1998 - National Press Club celebrates its 90th anniversary in grand style.


June 2, 1998 - Blogger Matt Drudge speaks about the internet as the people's media at the NPC.


October 17, 1998 - The first 5K run/walk to benefit the NPC scholarship programs takes off.


January 7, 1999 - First Vivian Awards presented to honor Club volunteerism.


Aug 10, 1999 - Biking competitor Lance Armstrong speaks at an NPC luncheon after winning his first Tour de France.


September 11, 2001 - The NPC goes into lock-down mode and provides journalists working in the building with free meals.


2004 - The NPC secures a $1 lease a year for the 13th and 14th floors through 2078.


January 21, 2004 - Sheila Cherry is sworn in as the Club's first African American president.


March 19, 2004 - Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks at an NPC luncheon.


2005 - Painting of the Greek courtesan "Phryne" is auctioned for $80,000 to an anonymous Brazilian; funds allocated to the NPC archives.


November 4, 2005 - NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman brings the famous Stanley Cup with him when he speaks at a luncheon.


January 13, 2006 - The National Press Club opens its Broadcast Operations Center.


April 27, 2006 - The joint news conference of George Clooney, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Sam Brownback garners the highest attendance of journalists at an NPC non-luncheon event.


May 14, 2007 - Bands headed by Tony Snow, White House press secretary, and veteran broadcast journalist Bob Schieffer go head to head in a Battle of the Bands.


Sept 24, 2007 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the first to speak at a NPC luncheon via two-way satellite during his visit to the U.N.


October 1, 2007 - NPC goes green by switching its energy sources to renewable means.


January 4, 2008 - The documentary of the Club's first 100 years is viewed at a gala event.


Source: National Press Club

CONTACT: Melinda Cooke, +1-202-662-7516, or Marlene Justen,
+1-202-662-7598, both of the National Press Club

Deadly Fires Prompt National Warning

31 Mar 2008 05:00 Africa/Lagos


Deadly Fires Prompt National Warning

Fire safety experts say most home fires preventable

WASHINGTON, March 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Fires strike across the country, killing on the average nine people each day (one every 162 minutes) and injuring thousands. Each one is a tragedy, and just within the past two weeks we have seen several particularly horrific ones. Five children died in a house fire in Arkansas, six people were killed in two fires within days of each other in New Hampshire and four more died in Alaska. Fires in Arizona, California, Iowa, New York, Colorado, Michigan, Washington and Delaware have claimed lives, all within just the past few days. On average, more than 3,200 people are killed in fires and 16,400 are injured each year and, ironically, over 82% of these deaths occur in the very place that people feel the safest from fire -- their homes. These are tragedies for the families, the communities, and the nation.


So often these fires and their fateful outcomes are avoidable through the use of proven fire prevention strategies and education. By making the public more aware of the role that they have in helping to build a fire-safe community we can make tremendous strides, one home at a time, towards reducing the loss of life and property that occurs every single year.


We have joined together to redouble our efforts to reach out to people across the nation to raise the national awareness of fire prevention. We know, without a doubt, that by educating our citizens about fire-safe practices and what to do if a fire should break out we can reduce the losses in our communities and work towards a fire-safe future for today's generation and beyond. Each of the organizations listed is committed to a simple mission -- saving lives. Some of the actions are ones that can be done today, others are for the future. However, by starting right now, we can someday point back and say that it started today.


We have reduced fire deaths nationally during the last 20 years but the problem and sadness continues to exist. We believe that we can further reduce our national life loss in this area by focusing on these key areas:


-- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside all sleeping areas and on every level of your home. For the best protection interconnect them so when one sounds they all sound.


-- Test them monthly to make sure they are working at all times.


-- Residential sprinklers save lives. If you are building or remodeling, consider installing residential sprinklers in your home.


-- Smoking is one of the leading causes of fatal fires. If you smoke, put them out every time.


-- Cooking fires are the leading cause of all fires. Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling or broiling food.


-- Know two ways out, no matter where you are -- your home, office, restaurant, movie theater.


-- Always react to a fire alarm immediately.

QuickStats
The Overall Fire Picture -- 2006
-- There were 3,245 civilians that lost their lives as the result of fire.
-- Nationwide, there was a civilian fire death every 162 minutes.

-- There were 16,400 civilian injuries that occurred as the result of fire.


-- Nationwide, there was a civilian fire injury every 32 minutes.
-- There were 106 firefighters killed while on duty.
-- Fire killed more Americans than all natural disasters combined.
-- 82 percent of all civilian fire deaths occurred in homes.

-- 1.6 million fires were reported. Many others went unreported, causing additional injuries and property loss.


-- Every 19 seconds, a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the nation.


-- Direct property loss due to fires was estimated at $11.3 billion.


-- An estimated 31,000 intentionally set structure fires resulted in 305 civilian deaths.


-- Intentionally set structure fires resulted in an estimated $755 million in property damage.


Source: National Fire Protection Association Fire Loss in the U.S. During 2006 and USFA's Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2006


Source: People's Burn Foundation

CONTACT: Ed Comeau, +1-413-323-6002, cell: +1-413-896-5718,
ecomeau@writer-tech.com, for People's Burn Foundation


Web Site: http://www.peoplesburnfoundation.org/

Number of Surrogate Mothers on the Rise in the United States

The April 7, 2008 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, March 31), "Womb for Rent." Newsweek explores the often-misunderstood practice of surrogacy and the reasons why it is on the rise in United States, especially among military wives. Plus: the two sides of John McCain, the crusader and the pragmatist; Barack Obama's record and stance on affirmative action; why poor Afghani girls are becoming opium brides; and a review of Martin Scorsese's film, "Shine a Light" about the Rolling Stones. (PRNewsFoto/Newsweek) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES 03/30/2008

30 Mar 2008 18:07 Africa/Lagos


NEWSWEEK Cover: Womb for Rent

Number of Surrogate Mothers on the Rise in the United States

Controversy and Negative Stereotypes Do Not Deter Many Women from Helping Others And Themselves

NEW YORK, March 30 /PRNewswire/ --

The concept of surrogacy is decried by conservative Christians, viewed as a form of prostitution by far-left feminists and debated by medical ethicists and lawmakers, but the practice is on the rise. For the April 7 Newsweek cover, "Womb For Rent" (on newsstands Monday, March 31), Senior Writer Lorraine Ali and Associate Editor Raina Kelley found more women than ever before are having babies for those who cannot. At the high end, industry experts estimate there were about 1,000 surrogate births in the U.S. last year, while the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology counted about 260 in 2006, a 30 percent increase over three years. But the number is surely much higher than this -- in just five of the agencies Newsweek spoke to, there were 400 surrogate births in 2007. The discrepancy in the figures stems from the way these births are counted.


For the High Resolution Photo: Click here


Newsweek discovered that many women who have turned to surrogacy are military wives looking to supplement the family income while their husbands are serving overseas. Several agencies reported a significant increase in the number of wives of soldiers and naval personnel applying to be surrogates since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. These women can earn more with one pregnancy than their husbands' annual base pay (which ranges for new enlistees from $16,080 to $28,900).


Military wife Gernisha Myers, 24, says she was looking through the local San Diego PennySaver circular for a job when she saw the listing: "Surrogate Mothers Wanted! Up to $20,000 Compensation!" The full-time mother of two thought it would be a great way to make money from home, and it would give her that sense of purpose she'd lacked since she left her job as an X-ray technician. She loved the feel of her belly with a baby inside, and that natural high that comes from "all those rushing hormones." Despite some negative reactions from her family members, Myers says she is "OK with it because I know I am doing something good for somebody else. I am giving another couple what they could never have on their own -- a family."


IVF clinics and surrogate agencies in Texas and California say military spouses make up 50 percent of their carriers. "In the military, we have that mentality of going to extremes, fighting for your country, risking your life," says Jennifer Hansen, 25, a paralegal who's married to Army Sgt. Chase Hansen. They live in Lincoln, Neb., and have two young kids, and Chase has been deployed to Iraq for two of the last five years. "I think that being married to someone in the military embeds those values in you. I feel I'm taking a risk now, in less of a way than he is, but still a risk with my life and body to help someone." Surrogate agencies target the population by dropping leaflets in the mailboxes of military housing complexes, such as those around San Diego's Camp Pendleton, and placing ads in on-base publications such as the Military Times and Military Spouse.


Military wives are also attractive candidates because of their health insurance, Tricare, which has some of the most comprehensive coverage for surrogates in the industry, and agencies may offer a potential surrogate with this health plan an extra $5,000. Last year military officials asked for a provision in the 2008 defense authorization bill to cut off coverage for any medical procedures related to surrogate pregnancy. They were unsuccessful -- there are no real data on how much the government spends on these cases. Tricare suggests that surrogate mothers who receive payment for their pregnancy should declare the amount they're receiving, which can then be deducted from their coverage. But since paid carriers have no incentive to say anything, most don't. The subject of Tricare surrogacy coverage is becoming a hot topic throughout the military world, and fiercely debated on Web sites such as militarySOS.com.


Another reason for the rise in surrogacies is that technology has made them safer and more likely to succeed. Clinics now boast a 70 to 90 percent pregnancy success rate -- up 40 percent in the past decade. Rather than just putting an egg into a petri dish with thousands of sperm and hoping for a match, embryologists can inject a single sperm directly into the egg. The great majority of clinics can now test embryos for genetic diseases before implantation. It's revolutionizing the way clinics treat patients. Ric Ross, lab director at LaJolla IVF in San Diego, says these advances have helped "drop IVF miscarriage rates by 85 percent."


There is still a lot that is not understood about the world of the surrogate. The culture still stereotypes surrogates as either hicks or opportunists whose ethics could use some fine-tuning. Even pop culture has bought into the caricature. In the upcoming feature film "Baby Mama," a single businesswoman (Tina Fey) is told by a doctor that she is infertile and hires a working-class gal (Amy Poehler) to be her surrogate. The client is a savvy, smart and well-to-do health-store-chain exec while Poehler is an unemployed, deceitful wild child who wants easy money.


To better understand them, Newsweek spoke with dozens of women across America who are, or have been, surrogates. What we found is surprising and defies stereotyping. The experiences of this vast group of women range from the wonderful and life-affirming to the heart-rending. One surrogate, Gina Scanlon, is the godmother of the twins she bore, while another still struggles because she has little contact with the baby she once carried. Some resent being told what to eat or drink; others feel more responsible bearing someone else's child than they did with their own. Their motivations are varied: one upper-middle-class carrier in California said that as a child she watched a family member suffer with infertility and wished she could help. Another working-class surrogate from Idaho said it was the only way her family could afford things they never could before. But all were agreed that the grueling IVF treatments, morning sickness, bed rest, C-sections and stretch marks were worth it once they saw their intended parent hold the child, or children (multiples are common with IVF), for the first time. "Being a surrogate is like giving an organ transplant to someone," says Jennifer Cantor, "only before you die, and you actually get to see their joy."


Read cover story on Newsweek


Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080330/NYSU002
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN1
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Newsweek

CONTACT: Brenda Velez of Newsweek, +1-212-445-4078,
Brenda.Velez@newsweek.com


Web site: Newsweek
Cover Story Link

END THE AMERICAN SUICIDE MISSION TO IRAQ

Mar 30 - Iraq's government is welcoming orders by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to stop fighting security forces.
A statement given to journalists by Sadr's aides in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf calls on the cleric's followers to end the fighting in Basra and elsewhere.
Paul Chapman reports.


This is the proof we need to debunk all the claims that the surge has been a success.
The surge has failed woefully.

This is the final confirmation of the civil war in Iraq.

The Coalition Forces should let these Islamists settle their scores.
When they are done, we can send the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

Over 4, 000 US soldiers have died in this suicide mission.
Is anyone caring for their bereaved families of fatherless and motherless children, widows, girlfriends, and others?

I am disappointed that none of the presidential candidates has shown concern for the bereaved families of the Americans killed in Iraq.
Shouting that the war was wrong will not comfort them.
Promising to end the war will not comfort them.
Americans do not need to wait for the next president to end the war in Iraq.

Has President George W. Bush lost any member of his family in Iraq?
Let him go and join the brave American soldiers at the war front.
Let his daughters go and serve in the war zones.
Are their lives more precious than the lives of the women serving in Iraq?

There will still be war in Iraq whether the American troops leave or not.
The war in Iraq is not an American war.
It is a civil war and no longer the business of America.
Iraq is not Vietnam.

The Democrats in Congress must do the will of the American people NOW.
END THE AMERICAN SUICIDE MISSION TO IRAQ.

Pelosi Statement on 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing

US Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Dalai Lama.

28 Mar 2008 17:04 Africa/Lagos


Pelosi Statement on 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing

WASHINGTON, March 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing:


"The Olympic Charter states that the Olympics should seek to foster 'respect for universal and fundamental ethical principles.' Sadly, the Chinese government has not lived up to its commitments to improve the human rights situation in China and Tibet. I believe the International Olympic Committee made a mistake in awarding the 2008 Summer games to China, and I sponsored a Congressional resolution expressing that view at the time.


"However, I believe a boycott of the Beijing Olympics would unfairly harm our athletes who have worked so hard to prepare for the competition.


"The Olympics should provide for more opportunity for free expression, not less. When the Olympic torch passes through San Francisco next month, I support the rights of individuals and groups to make their views known about the actions of the Chinese government.


"As I said in India last week where I met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, if freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression in Tibet, we have lost our moral authority to speak out on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world."


Visit Speaker.gov (http://www.speaker.gov/)


Source: Office of the Speaker of the House

CONTACT: Brendan Daly or Drew Hammill, +1-202-226-7616, both of the
Office of the Speaker of the House


Web Site: http://www.speaker.gov/

Press Schedule of President Bush for Monday, March 31, 2008

29 Mar 2008 20:17 Africa/Lagos


Press Schedule of President Bush for Monday, March 31, 2008

WASHINGTON, March 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Intown Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: NBC
Print: Baltimore Sun
Radio: SRN
Magazine Photo: Time
Independent Pool: AP


6:00 am INTOWN TRAVEL POOL gathers in the Brady Press Briefing Room
EDT

7:00 am THE PRESIDENT and Mrs. Bush depart The White House via Marine
One
South Lawn, The White House
OPEN PRESS
(Pre-set: 6:30 am; final call: 6:45 am)

Briefing Schedule:
There will be no gaggle and no briefing.


*The President's daily schedule is also available by calling 202-456-2358.*


CONTACT: White House Press Office, +1-202-456-2580


PR Newswsire -- March 29
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:


Source: White House Press Office

Web site: White House

Radio Address by President Bush to The Nation On the Economy

29 Mar 2008 15:06 Africa/Lagos


Radio Address by President Bush to The Nation

WASHINGTON, March 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

The following is the radio address by President Bush to the Nation:


THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. It's not every day that Americans look forward to hearing from the Internal Revenue Service, but over the past few weeks many Americans have received a letter from the IRS with some good news. The letters explain that millions of individuals and families will soon be receiving tax rebates, thanks to the economic growth package that Congress passed and I signed into law last month.


Americans who are eligible for a rebate will get it automatically by simply filing their taxes. If you are not a tax filer, you should visit your local IRS office to fill out the necessary paperwork so you can get your rebate on time.


The growth package also contains incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment this year. On Wednesday I visited a printing company in Virginia that has decided to use these incentives to purchase new software. As more businesses begin taking advantage of these incentives, investment will pick up and so will job creation. And together with the individual tax rebates, these incentives will help give our economy a shot in the arm.


For many families, the greatest concern with the economy is the downturn in the housing market. My Administration has taken action to help responsible homeowners keep their homes. In October, we helped bring together a private sector group called the HOPE NOW Alliance. HOPE NOW has helped streamline the process for refinancing and modifying mortgages, and it runs a national hotline to connect struggling homeowners with mortgage counselors.


On Friday, I visited an impressive mortgage counseling center in New Jersey. At the center, I met with homeowners who have been able to get help, thanks to HOPE NOW. One of them is Danny Cerchiaro. Danny owns a home in New Jersey that also serves as a studio for his movie production company. When Danny and his wife learned that their adjustable rate mortgage was resetting to a higher rate this past summer, they became concerned about their financial security. So Danny called HOPE NOW for help. Less than two months later, he was able to get a more affordable fixed-rate mortgage. And today Danny calls the mortgage counselor who helped him, "the magic lady."


Theresa Torres from Kansas City is another homeowner who has been helped. Theresa called HOPE NOW after she and her husband fell behind on their mortgage payments in December. A mortgage counselor helped Theresa modify her mortgage. Today she no longer worries about losing her home.


There are hundreds of thousands of homeowners like Theresa and Danny who could benefit from calling HOPE NOW. If you're a homeowner struggling with your mortgage, please take the first step toward getting help by calling the hotline at 888-995-H-O-P-E. That's 888-995-H-O-P-E.


HOPE NOW can help homeowners find the right solution for them. One solution for some homeowners is a new program we launched at the Federal Housing Administration called FHASecure. This program has given the FHA greater flexibility to offer struggling homeowners with otherwise good credit histories a chance to refinance. So far this program has helped more than 130,000 families refinance their mortgages. And by the end of the year we expect this program to have reached nearly 300,000 homeowners in all.


This is a good start, and my Administration is committed to building on it. So we're exploring ways this program can help more qualified homebuyers. The problems in the housing market are complicated and there is no easy solution. But by supporting responsible homeowners with wise policies, we'll help them weather a difficult period, we will help get our economy back on track, and we will ensure America remains the most prosperous Nation in the world.


Thank you for listening.


END


Source: White House Press Office

CONTACT: The White House Press Office, +1-202-456-2580


Web Site: White House