[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 13 (Thursday, February 10, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   DADE COUNTY NEEDS THE SPECIAL HURRICANE INITIATIVE PROJECT [SHIP]

                                 ______


                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 10, 1994

  Mrs. MEEK. of Florida. Mr. Speaker, throughout my years of service in 
the Florida State House and Senate and in the U.S. Congress, I have 
strongly supported legislation and policies to combine the resources of 
the Government and the private sector to help more people own their own 
homes.
  I have worked so hard on housing issues because the cornerstone of 
the American dream--home ownership--has been an illusive one for 
thousands of Dade County families of modest means.
  To help address this problem, two progressive, locally based housing 
organizations--the Miami-Dade Neighborhood Housing Service, Inc. 
[MDNHS] and Centro Campesino Farmworkers Center, Inc.--have combined 
their talents and resources to create an innovative joint venture 
called the Special Hurricane Initiative Project, or SHIP.
  The SHIP Program is also sponsored by the Neighborhood Reinvestment 
Corp., which was created by the U.S. Congress to improve neighborhood 
housing; Neighborhood Housing Services of America [NHSA], a nonprofit 
secondary market for loans initiated by programs like SHIP; the 
Allstate Insurance Co., which provided a $2.5 million investment in 
NHSA to help fund SHIP loans; and the Local Initiatives Reinvestment 
Corp. and We Will Rebuild, which provide administrative funds and other 
assistance to the SHIP Program.
  The purpose of SHIP is to strengthen South Dade county and the 
communities of Homestead, Leisure City, Florida City, and Naranja by 
helping people who want to become homeowners there.
  Participants may be residents who are already homeowners but who want 
to rebuild their hurricane-damaged home; tenants in the area who want 
to own their own homes; or people currently residing outside the area 
who want to become South Dade homeowners.
  Individuals would apply to either MDNHS or Centro Campesino and must 
meet low-moderate income requirements and underwriting criteria. Once 
qualified, applicants are granted a mortgage at a very low rate of 
interest--anticipated to be less than 3 percent. The loan is serviced 
through the SHIP Program by MDNHS until it is paid off.
  Once the loan has been made, it is sold to the NHSA secondary 
mortgage market so that the loaned amount is replaced in the fund so 
that it can be loaned to another low-income family.
  Centro Campesino may grant qualified individuals down payment 
assistance to insure that the loans are affordable, and MDNHS will 
provide homeowner counseling and assist applicants with selecting 
contractors.
  Mr. Speaker, the SHIP Program is exactly the kind of public-private, 
grassroots partnership that we need to help meet the housing needs of 
low and moderate income people. I applaud this effort look forward to 
helping make it a success.

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