In Pennsylvania and all across the country, Americans are struggling to keep their heads above water. The housing crisis is causing record numbers of foreclosures. Food and gas prices continue to skyrocket with no ceiling in sight.

But it's not just the day-to-day financial pressures that worry so many. For generations, Americans have relied on the equity they built in their homes to help fund their retirement. But with housing prices nationwide continuing to fall dramatically each month, the nest egg so many working and middle-class Americans have spent years to create is eroding.

With so many Americans reaching age 65 in the next decade, we must act now to safeguard their retirement. Of the approximately 330,000 people living in Pittsburgh, 24 percent are age 55 or older. That is one reason why the Eaton Global Residential Division has joined a coalition of U.S. manufacturers (www.suppliersforhousing.org) to urge Congress to pass the housing relief bill.

Our coalition is made up of suppliers who manufacture the goods and provide the labor for homes that are built across the nation. In Pennsylvania, our company has a large division in Moon that manufactures power-distribution equipment and includes circuit breakers for the industry.

The suppliers have spent enough time in the housing industry to know the difference between a normal cyclical downturn and a crisis. There is nothing normal about home values plummeting, communities sinking into despair and city revenues evaporating -- all in a matter of months.

Recently the House passed HR 3221, the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act. We believe this is an important step in the right direction. We are asking lawmakers to move swiftly to enact legislation that can revive the housing industry and secure our futures. Therefore, it is critical that legislation that is passed and signed by President Bush include three components:

1. A tax credit for home buyers. Currently HR 3321 provides a temporary $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers who earn less than $70,000 annually to jump-start liquidity in the market. It's a good beginning. But in order to provide home buyers with the confidence to step off the sidelines, we need to do more.

2. Give employers greater ability to deduct their net operating losses. Under current tax laws, when a company has a net operating loss it can use this loss to recover past tax payments made during profitable years for up to two years. By extending the existing provision of the tax code from two to four years, we can avoid a situation where an already depressed market will be driven down faster if builders are forced to put their inventory of homes and land up for sale. Allowing builders to hold on to homes with considerably diminished values for two additional years until the market has had a chance to recover is critical.

3. Permanent increases to the FHA loan limits and streamlining of the FHA program. In recent months, securing mortgage financing has become a major impediment for buyers wanting to purchase a new home. The current economic conditions and the lack of available capital are exacerbating the woes of the housing industry. FHA reform will free up existing capital to allow more qualified buyers to get qualified and make a housing purchase.

It's really Econ 101. Congress has the ability to take immediate steps to restore consumer confidence in the housing market. This, in turn, will stimulate demand and increase home values.