FREDDIE MAC, ASIAN-AMERICAN GROUPS TO HELP VIETNAMESE, CAMBODIAN, LAO FAMILIES DISPLACED BY RECENT HURRICANES

U.S. Reps. Davis, Moran, Honda Hail Effort to Surmount Language Barriers to Storm Relief

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) is joining forces with three Asian-American organizations in an effort to break down cultural and language barriers separating public and private hurricane relief programs from hundreds of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian families whose Gulf Coast homes and businesses were wrecked by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The three groups are the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans (NCVA), Boat People SOS, and the National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies (NAVASA).

Freddie Mac’s $200,000 corporate grant will enable the three Asian-American groups to send bi-lingual, bi-cultural staff to the hurricane disaster areas to help nearly 1000 families find temporary shelter and to apply for federal, state, local and private aid.

The bi-lingual staff the three organizations can now deploy are expected to place 700 Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Lao families in temporary housing in Bayou La Batre, Alabama and Biloxi, Mississippi, provide housing assistance to an estimated 250 additional families returning to New Orleans, and help the Vietnamese community assess its rebuilding needs in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Today’s announcement drew quick praise from several Congressmen, including Rep. Tom Davis, Chair of the House Committee on Government Reform. “I applaud Freddie Mac for the grant they awarded to the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans (NCVA), Boat People SOS (BPSOS), and the National Alliance of Vietnamese Americans Service Agencies (NCVA),” Davis said. “I know firsthand these three highly regarded community organizations will work tirelessly to ensure this grant money helps Vietnamese Americans rebuild their homes and communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Rita.”

“The devastation from Hurricane Katrina is a great challenge for our nation,” added Congressman Jim Moran, a member on the House Committee on Appropriations. “We will rebuild the Gulf Coast and bring New Orleans back as one of this country’s most vibrant, culturally infused cities. But it will take a collective effort, one that people of all races, creeds and ethnicities must pitch in to help. I am especially concerned about helping state and local officials house those in need and applaud Freddie Mac for moving us in the right direction.”

“With the Asian American community’s infrastructure and resources limited throughout the Katrina storm area, many victims are relying on APIA community organizations that lack funding for an extended recovery effort,” said Congressman Mike Honda, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. “I want to thank Freddie Mac for their leadership in providing this grant which is the first step in providing an adequate response.”

“By working with these three widely-respected organizations, we can provide an essential bridge between displaced Asian families and the hurricane relief efforts Freddie Mac and other organizations launched in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” said Dwight Robinson, Freddie Mac’s senior vice president of corporate relations and housing outreach. “Today’s announcement further underscores Freddie Mac’s mission to foster financial stability for America’s lenders, borrowers and communities in all kinds of weather.”

“This timely grant will help us transition from emergency relief to recovery,” said Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang, Executive Director of Boat People SOS. “One of our focuses in the recovery phase is temporary housing for hurricane victims. Due to language barrier, hundreds of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Lao families have not been placed into FEMA-provided trailers or transitional housing. They continue to live in their damaged residence under absolutely unhealthy conditions.”

“Freddie Mac has taken great measures within the past months in responding, initiating and making timely contributions in efforts to aid the Asian American survivors of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. I strongly believe that by working together Freddie Mac, Boat People S.O.S., NCVA and NAVASA will benefit thousands of displaced survivors,” Huy Vu Bui, Executive Director of NAVASA stated, “and I hope that this effort will encourage other corporations with Asian consumers and personnel to give support to our efforts.”

“Today’s announcement will help make homes possible for Americans of diverse backgrounds and help ensure Vietnamese Americans have a role in the rebuilding of their homes and neighborhoods in an affordable and equitable manner,” said Hung Nguyen, president and CEO of the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans. “I applaud Freddie Mac for stepping forward and making this commitment to provide needed resources to our vulnerable communities.”

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and nearly four million renters in America.

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