[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 32 (Thursday, March 13, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2294-S2295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  A PROMISING DAY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND OUR NATION'S COMMUNITIES

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today four of this Nation's most 
remarkable nonprofit organizations are announcing the largest private 
sector investment in our Nation's affordable housing of all time. The 
Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Habitat for Humanity, the 
Enterprise Foundation and the National NeighborWorks Network have 
joined together and pledged to create 13 billion dollars' worth of 
housing over the next 4 years. This investment in

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our Nation's most economically challenged areas is testament to the 
dedication and commitment of these organizations to our inner cities 
and impoverished rural areas. Theirs is a visionary and comprehensive 
plan to leverage renewal--this unprecedented investment not only will 
create nearly 200,000 affordable homes but also rebuild entire 
communities once left to waste.
  As the ranking Democrat on the Housing Subcommittee, I am often privy 
to some of the most distressing cases of deprivation experienced by 
some of our fellow citizens. Joblessness, homelessness, lack of medical 
care, crumbling schools, rising cases of AIDS and other infectious 
diseases, and crime-riddled streets--those are too often the 
touchstones in the mosaic of urban America. However, today, the news is 
quite different as this pledge will stimulate tens of billions of 
dollars in additional private investment which in turn will create tens 
of thousands of jobs and new businesses in nearly 2,500 communities 
across the Nation.
  And, Mr. President, some of those communities are located in the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This investment will further strengthen 
the efforts of the Urban Edge Community Development Corp. in Jamaica 
Plain and the Codman Square Community Development Corp., to name just 
two of the many renewal success stories in Massachusetts. Mr. 
President, my home State enjoys a well-deserved reputation as the 
incubator of the Nation's most sophisticated, mature and comprehensive 
approaches to development in which housing is the cornerstone but the 
provision of goods and services and jobs forms the foundation. For many 
years, local community-based development groups and affordable housing 
advocates have worked with corporations and philanthropies like Bank 
Boston, Polaroid, the Boston Foundation, and the Hyams Foundation to 
generate and dedicate millions of dollars to urban renewal.
  Mr. President, I salute the commitment embodied in this pledge and I 
recognize that the challenge to match this dedication is ours. In these 
tough budgetary times, we must not allow important programs which 
stimulate economic and community renewal to wither in the sometimes 
blinding devotional light of the year 2002. I have stood in this 
Chamber on many occasions and discussed the importance of YouthBuild, 
CDBG's, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the Housing Preservation 
Program, and the Community Reinvestment Act. And today I stand resolute 
to bolster the Federal role in community-based development. Clearly, 
our national democracy is strengthened through this type of public-
private partnership and I will redouble my efforts to assist community 
and local organizations which are making a vital and needed difference 
in towns and cities throughout our Nation.
  This is a day of good news, hope, and promise, Mr. President. Let us 
respond to the challenge with commensurate dedication to our Nation's 
communities.

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