WASHINGTON – Congressman Michael Oxley (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services called The Housing Affordability for America Act of 2002 "a good start" in addressing the critical issue of the shortage of affordable housing in the U.S. "While this bill does not provide the panacea for solving or addressing all of our housing problems, it begins to provide the initiatives that we know are doable and make sense in this Congress," Oxley told Committee members before the markup of H.R. 3995. The Chairman pointed out that according to a recent poll, the shortage of affordable housing ranks second only to health care costs as a concern for citizens. It tops employment, crime and the environment as the problem consumers consider the most important. H.R. 3995 has the support of the National Association of Home Builders; Mortgage Bankers Association; National Association of Realtors; U.S. Conference of Mayors; National League of Cities; Consumer Mortgage Coalition; Local Initiatives Support Corporation; National Multi Housing Council; Habitat for Humanity, among others.