Six percent of all workers in Arlington are eligible for a new program in which homeownership assistance will be provided in order to keep workers in the county.
Approximately 11,000 employees with incomes up to $100,000 are eligible for mortgage and down-payment assistance through the Federal Home Loan and Mortgage Corp., a program first reported by The Examiner last week.
“This is a community, coming together, marshaling its resources,” said Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va.
Moran also pledged to commit more federal resources to providing more federal funds for affordable housing if Democrats take control of the House of Representatives in next fall’s midterm election. He said funds for these programs have been cut back in recent years and that he was committed to restoring them.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, will hold a town-hall meeting with Arlington residents in the fall to tell them how to get federal housing assistance, Moran said.
Employees of Arlington County, Arlington Schools, AHC Inc., the Ethiopian Community Development Council, George Mason University, Marymount University and Virginia Hospital Center are eligible for the program.
County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman said the effort is aimed at keeping Arlington workers closer to their places of work and cutting down commuting times and traffic congestion. He said the county will continue to work to find ways to keep workers in Arlington.
“This for us is just one tool in a big toolbox,” he said.
