Service members are having trouble with foreclosures too

Washington earmarked $550 million as housing help for the military staff – it being included in the stimulus funds.

Lt. Mark Michel of the Navy is one of them who should have benefited. He had to give up his house in South Florida in the wake of the collapsing real estate market when he was transferred to the Pentagon. The federal fund was intended to assist him selling the house or in renegotiating the loan so that his family did not have to undergo a financial crisis.

It is over 7 months since the stimulus package made its entry. The money for the military has remained untouched – snared by red tape and far removed from the military personnel it was supposed to assist.

Meanwhile Michel is still playing his part and continuing to pay for a house which he no longer occupies. Thousands of military members are in the same boat – unable to sell off their properties in a housing market that has hit historical low levels. Many are now facing foreclosure.

Michel is 35 – a husband and father of twins. He bemoaned, “It just doesn’t really make sense. I mean, the money is there. And this program was obviously meant to help people in a timely manner. And yet it’s not. It’s stuck somewhere in the government when a lot of people are in the hurt locker right now.”

The fault lies not so much in erroneous paper work but in believing that the Washington government would be able to keep its promise to the military timely and without delay. During a question and answer session amongst service members, Adm. Michael Mullen admitted to this. He placed the blame on a bureaucracy that was too slow and ponderous. He quipped, “I regret that it has been delayed.” The lives of thousands of military personnel – men as well as women are in jeopardy.

The congressional representatives of Florida are equally concerned about their plight. Rep Suzanne Kosmas has sent a urgent letter to Robert Gates, the Defense Secretary and to John McHugh, the Army Secretary asking them to put in sped. In the letter Kosmas said, “Immediate action should be taken to expedite (the program). Our service members should not have to worry about the potential for foreclosure or harm to their credit when they are preparing for a new assignment and duty station.”

Recently the congressional offices have got a reply from the Defense Department with assurances of action.

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