[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 49 (Thursday, March 16, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


      JIM JOHNSON AND FANNIE MAE ARE SHOWING AMERICA A NEW WAY HOME

                                 ______


                          HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 16, 1995
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of 
Fannie Mae's showing America a new way home initiative. One year ago 
Fannie Mae Chairman and CEO Jim Johnson launched Fannie Mae on a bold 
journey to help transform the American housing finance system. On March 
15, 1994, Fannie Mae pledged to provide $1 trillion in targeted housing 
finance by the end of the decade to help 10 million families achieve 
the American dream of home ownership. Fannie Mae has set an aggressive 
target and is steadily moving to meet its goal by the year 2000.
  This initiative is already making a major impact on the lives of 
people throughout the nation. In Minnesota, Fannie Mae has sponsored a 
home buying fair, opened a partnership office, provided several grants 
to housing and home ownership counseling organizations and formed a 
community lending roundtable to help identify and remove barriers to 
home ownership. By working with local partners, Fannie Mae is opening 
the door to home ownership to many people who thought owning a home of 
their own was merely a dream.
  I commend Fannie Mae and Jim Johnson for their vision and ability to 
get the job done.
  I would like to include in the Record an article from the Minnesota 
media that outlines just one of the many examples of how Fannie Mae is 
reaching out to communities across the Nation:
          [From the St. Paul Pioneer Press, February 18, 1995]

             Hmong Get Help, Make Progress in Buying Homes

                             (By Ann Baker)

       The 30,000-strong Hmong community is making strides into 
     home ownership, although the majority have been in the Twin 
     Cities no more than six years.
       An agency that started just one year ago to help Hmong 
     families and other Southeast Asians navigate the mortgage 
     market reported Friday that it already has helped 31 families 
     cross the threshold from tenants to homeowners. Another 13 
     are awaiting mortgage approval.
       A handful of the new homeowners are Cambodian, Vietnamese 
     or Laotian, said Lengchy Lor, executive director of the 
     People's Network of Minnesota Inc. But most, he said, are 
     Hmong.
       And a survey of nearly 400 Hmong families shows that 30 
     percent want to become home buyers.
       ``Home ownership brings stability,'' Rep. Bruce Vento told 
     a gathering of Hmong people and supporters Friday at a 
     gathering that announced the survey as well as a $12,000 
     grant from the Fannie Mae Foundation for People's Network to 
     hire Cambodian and Vietnamese housing counselors.
       This marks a departure from most immigrant groups, who have 
     waited a generation or two before buying homes, according to 
     Rich Thompson, lead housing inspector in St. Paul's city 
     license and permits division.
       ``This group is becoming owners as quick as they can,'' he 
     said. ``It's a grass-roots movement, and it has triggered a 
     spurt of redevelopment activity by other groups.''
       One reason may be Hmong family size--too big to squeeze 
     into an average apartment. In a survey of 390 Hmong families, 
     the People's Network reported that the median family size is 
     six. Many families have eight or nine members, and a few have 
     as many as 14.
       Another reason many parents gave was wanting to live in a 
     neighborhood where their children would not be exposed to 
     gangs. Many favored neighborhoods on the East Side.
       Thirty percent want to buy their own home, and most want a 
     house with four bedrooms, as well as a basement for special 
     events and a back yard for a garden as well as special 
     events.
       More than 90 percent also eagerly embrace the idea of 
     forming a Hmong Village, something like San Francisco's 
     Chinatown, as a place for strengthening Hmong culture, 
     business opportunities and community leadership. One task for 
     the village would be to address crime issues in the 
     community.
       Ninety percent in the survey also want to develop a Hmong 
     soccer field for youth to develop professional athletic 
     skills.
       Most of the 390 families now live in public housing or 
     large private complexes such as Maywood East and Omega Court.
       But the survey stressed that it takes a lot of effort--and 
     sometimes a lot of help--for Hmong people to move into home 
     ownership, coming from a culture where banking, loans and 
     check-writing--not to mention credit--were completely 
     foreign.
       ``In the Hmong community, `good credit history' means `cash 
     rather than financing as much as possible,''' states the 
     report. ``In the Western country, `good credit history' means 
     `paid all bills off and on time.'''
     

                          ____________________