Budget to help needy
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration will seek $200 million in the next budget to help low-income families pay for their first home.

The program would help about 40,000 families a year for five years to pay a down payment or closing costs,the Department of Housing and Urban Development said Tuesday. Most of the grants would be less than $5,000 for each family and money would be distributed by state and local housing programs.

“It will enhance the ability of local communities to design a program that will best help people,” HUD Secretary Mel Martinez said. “By giving as many Americans as possible an opportunity to become stake-holders in their community, we believe it will help to stabilize some neighborhoods and completely revitalize others.”

He said that to be eligible, a family’s income must be below 80 percent of an area's median household income, the midpoint at which half of families earn more and half earn less.

The $200 million for the American Dream Downpayment Fund will be included in the proposed budget for the yearlong period beginning in October, the agency said. The current budget includes $50 million for the program, which will begin offering grants in July.

The fund will be added to an existing HUD program that for a decade has provided grants to states and local governments to help communities create more affordable housing. People interested in the down payment fund would have to contact the local agencies that run that program.

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