GlobeSt.com: On many levels--economic, political, social--these are not fast times in the affordable housing sector. What is the tone in Washington, DC, particularly with a new administration in place?

Reid: It's not very good right now, but that's largely because of the continued squeeze on the domestic budget. In terms of the Bush administration, there seems to be no change from the Clinton years, although the White House now is less warm and fuzzy to affordable housing. This could be simply that their commitment has not been made evident yet. The new $30-billion HUD budget is really a standstill budget, which means that while they advertise that they've increased the budget by a billion or a billion and half dollars, it's really a little less because of prior years' obligations. If we adjusted the HUD budget for inflation since 1980, it should be in excess of $80 billion now.Also, while there was an increase in low-income-housing tax credits, it is still inadequate; it comes down to $3 billion per year, which sounds like a lot of money, but not when it's compared to need.

GlobeSt.com: So the crisis is worsening not only from a Fed standpoint but from the business and social standpoints as well.