[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 81 (Tuesday, May 16, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6744-S6745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         NORWEST BANK OF COLORADO AND ATLANTIS COMMUNITY, INC.

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I want to say a few words of 
congratulation to the people who work for 
[[Page S6745]] Norwest Bank of Colorado and Atlantis Community, Inc.
  Atlantis Community is the largest home health care agency in 
Colorado, with an outstanding record of service to and advocacy for 
disabled individuals. With Norwest Bank, Atlantis developed a unique 
program to help lower income disabled people achieve an American dream: 
the dream of owning a home.
  Atlantis and Norwest pioneered the Disability Community Homeownership 
Program to help provide home mortgage financing to disabled people. 
This program features 15- to 30-year first mortgage loans with no down 
payment, no closing costs, below market interest rates, and other 
advantages to qualified home buyers. In 1993, Norwest set aside $2.5 
million for loans to the disabled community. Norwest now has over $6 
million in home loans to 100 people with disabilities, who could not 
avail themselves of existing lending programs.
  Atlantis teamed with Norwest to help build awareness of this program 
among the disabled community. In addition, Atlantis offers financial 
counseling and money management services specifically tailored to meet 
the needs of disabled people. The interest in these services was so 
high, Atlantis and Norwest decided to expand it to a consumer loan 
program for buying and modifying vehicles, improving disabled access to 
homes, and other purposes.
  In recognition of these community-oriented efforts, Atlantis and 
Norwest received nominations for the Social Compact Outstanding 
Community Investment Award. Social Compact is a coalition of hundreds 
of leaders from the financial services and community development 
industries, coming together to strengthen American communities through 
neighborhood partnerships.
  I congratulate Atlantis and Norwest for their nominations for this 
award, and I applaud their initiative for turning community concerns 
into concrete results.


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