Lynn C. Woolsey: “I still have a hard time saying ``trillion'' when I'm talking numbers. And that, I believe, would have been what we…”

“I still have a hard time saying ``trillion'' when I'm talking numbers. And that, I believe, would have been what we needed. Because, you see, we're only going to have one bite at this apple. I don't believe we're going to get a second chance. So I think it should be as bold as it can possibly be. And the third ``ask'' in our letter to the conferees was regarding investing in America's future, home ownership. We see this as one of the key elements in the Bush recession, the housing crisis that can be felt from Wall Street to Main Street. And that's why we think that the Senate action was actually wrongheaded. The Senate bill zeroes out $2.25 billion in funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which would have provided funds to States and localities to purchase and rehabilitate abandoned and foreclosed homes. The House allocated $4.19 billion for that program. We requested that our leadership return the funding to the House-passed levels so that we would then make a statement about how important housing and neighborhoods are and that we shore up the neighborhoods that are suffering the most.”