[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 98 (Thursday, June 15, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H6033]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                                HOUSING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Gonzalez] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, it is my intention, the Good Lord willing, 
to take an hour tomorrow in order to provide my latest report with 
respect to the very fundamental question of housing in our country.
  But for the moment, I would like to report on a letter that I have 
addressed the Comptroller General of the United States, Mr. Charles 
Bowsher.
  As you know, the GAO has provided me and the Subcommittee on Housing 
information and analysis with regard to the FHA single family mortgage 
insurance program. I am writing to request that the GAO conduct some 
further work and analysis in this area.
  Let me interpose and interject a little report. Because there is no 
general widespread discussion or reporting on housing conditions in our 
country, the most pertinent and disturbing fact is that we still have, 
in the words of Franklin Roosevelt, in fact better than one-third of 
our Americans ill-housed, ill-fed, and ill-clothed in what we have all 
taken for granted to be a time of great abundance.
  Unfortunately, as we have evolved historically, we have gone a long 
way in which I have always feared, and, that is, the Europe-ization or 
the stratification of our social elements, or classes, if you want to 
call them that.
  It was always my hope and in fact I premised my aspirations, for 
without that, I would not be addressing my colleagues today, on the 
upward, free ability of movement of our general citizenry, where we 
have not become so strapped and so homogenized and stratified as in 
some of the older portions of the world, including Europe, where that 
is impossible.
  If you are the son or the daughter of a street sweeper or even a 
humble shoemaker in most countries, including England, it will be very 
difficult for that son or daughter to be a doctor, or a dentist, or a 
lawyer.

                              {time}  1645

  That is because of the stratification that has come over the course 
of centuries in the class structure of those countries and societies.
  This is our challenge, and will continue to be, and was foreseen; 
that as we emerged into the 20th century, that would be America's 
challenge.
  Now, the basic elements and necessities of life for human beings has 
not changed. You have got to have clothing, you have got to have food, 
and you have got to have shelter.
  In my congressional and even in my precongressional service, going to 
my earlier years in my home city of San Antonio, I concentrated on that 
one element known as shelter. And, as a matter of fact, in the State 
Senate, was the author of the general comprehensive housing and 
community laws that still are on the statute books in Texas of over 35 
years ago.
  And so, I am quite proud of that record, and I continued that 
endeavor and was very fortunate, upon arrival in the House, to be 
assigned to the Committee on Banking, which also has the Subcommittee 
on Housing and now known as Housing and Community Development.
  At this time the Congress and the administration are considering 
changes in the FHA's organizational structure and its programs and 
authorities. FHA, and particularly with reference to the Single Family 
Mortgage Insurance Program, is one of the great contributions and 
breakthroughs in taking our people out of the submergence of bad 
housing, poverty, into our level that we have become accustomed to.
  Mr. Speaker, I include the following letter for the Record:

         House of Representatives, Committee on Banking and 
           Financial Services,
                                    Washington, DC, June 15, 1995.
     Hon. Charles Bowsher,
     Comptroller General of the United States, General Accounting 
         Office, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Bowsher: As you know, the GAO has provided me and 
     the Subcommittee on Housing information and analysis with 
     regard to the FHA single family mortgage insurance program. I 
     am writing to request that the GAO conduct some further work 
     and analysis in this area.
       The Congress and the Administration currently are 
     considering changes in FHA's organizational structure and its 
     programs and authorities. In order to make the most informed 
     decision about these proposals, we need to learn as much as 
     possible about the current borrowers and activities of the 
     FHA and their relationship to today's single family finance 
     system. For this reason, I am requesting that the GAO provide 
     me with information on differences and similarities between 
     the FHA and private mortgage insurers. Specifically, I am 
     interested in comparisons of the income and race of borrowers 
     assisted by the FHA and private mortgage insurers, the income 
     and racial characteristics of the neighborhoods in which 
     these borrowers live, comparisons of product lines, and in 
     any other information that might be helpful as we consider 
     legislative proposals.
       May I suggest that our respective staffs meet as soon as 
     possible to establish a time frame for completing this work. 
     If you have any questions concerning this request, please 
     call me or have your staff call Nancy Libson of the Banking 
     Committee staff at 225-7054.
       I deeply appreciate the work the GAO has done for us and 
     look forward to your insights once again on this important 
     topic.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                Henry B. Gonzalez,
                                                   Ranking Member.
     

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