Allentown, PA – April 3, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Representative Charlie Dent (PA-15) was presented with the 2015 Champion of Housing Counseling Award from the National Housing Resource Center (NHRC) and the area’s primary housing counseling agency, the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley (CACLV).
“Housing counseling agencies such as Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley are doing incredible work for families across the nation. Our communities are made better by their efforts,” said Dent. “It is an honor to be recognized by the National Housing Resource Center with this distinguished award. As a Member of the House Committee on Appropriations, I understand and appreciate the benefits to the thousands of families in my community and the return on investment that taxpayers receive from housing counseling programs,” Dent continued. “I will work to ensure that housing agencies continue to have the resources they need to assist homeowners in foreclosure through loan modifications, repayment plans, settlements, and forbearance programs. These solutions offer far better outcomes for homeowners, lenders and the community than foreclosures,” Dent concluded.
The Champion of Housing Counseling Award is presented by the National Housing Resource Center (NHRC). The NHRC serves as an advocate for the nonprofit housing counseling community promoting the long-term interests of the housing counseling industry and the people served by the housing counseling agencies. The Award is given to public officials who demonstrate a commitment to housing counseling and to the individuals who benefit from such counseling. Dent is the first Member of Congress to receive the Champion of Housing Counseling Award and the third recipient overall. Previous awardees include HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and Sarah Gerecke, Director of HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling.
In presenting Congressman Dent with the award, Bruce Dorpalen, Executive Director of the National Housing Resource Center, said, “At a time when America’s housing counselors were working with hundreds of thousands of families in housing crisis, Congressman Dent played a key role in restoring federal funding for housing counseling. Congressman Dent has a solid record of support for what housing counselors do best — help people become homeowners and help people preserve their homes, not only in his district but in communities across this nation. Congressman, please see this award as a virtual standing ovation by housing counselors, the families they serve and the communities where they live, from Allentown to Albuquerque and from Billings to Bethlehem.”
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Representative Dent serves Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District, which is comprised of all of Lehigh County and parts of Northampton, Berks, Lebanon, and Dauphin counties. He currently serves on the House Appropriations Committee where he is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. He also serves as the Chairman of the House Ethics Committee.
Photograph – Representative Dent addressing audience at award ceremony. Photo taken at Community Action Committee of Lehigh Valley in Bethlehem, PA.
