NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) March 19, 1999--Standard&Poor's today assigned its single-'A'-plus underlying (SPUR) rating to District of Columbia, D.C.'s $109.43 million revenue refunding bonds series 1998, issued for Howard University. Standard and Poor's also affirmed its single-'A'-plus underlying (SPUR) rating on the District of Columbia's $49.15 million rev refunding bonds series 1996, issued for the university. In addition, Standard&Poor's affirmed its single-'A'-plus rating on the District of Columbia's $6.71 million refunding bonds series 1992A and 1992B. The single-'A'-plus rating reflects: -- Substantial levels of federal support (53% of unrestricted 1998 revenues); -- Howard's role as the nation's premier comprehensive, private, minority institution; and -- A very noticeable strengthening in most areas of the university.
