[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 13, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE HOUSE THAT CONGRESS BUILT RESOLUTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 21, 1997, the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I want to express my special 
appreciation to the gentlewoman from Washington, DC, Ms. Eleanor Holmes 
Norton, my Congresswoman, for most Members live in the Capitol city 
when Congress is in session. The gentlewoman mentioned an initiative 
announced earlier in the day, when we were joined by Speaker Newt 
Gingrich, my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio, Lou Stokes, as well as 
the founder and President of Habitat for Humanity, Millard Fuller. 
Also, two very special families gathered at that session to celebrate 
the initiation of an important event in the history of the Congress and 
the District of Columbia.
  These bipartisan leaders gathered to announce their intent to build 
``the House that Congress Built,'' in a unique partnership involving 
Congress, Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo, leaders of the National 
Partners and Homeownership, and others.

                              {time}  1300

  On June 5, 6, and 7, 1997, these leaders will begin construction of 
two Habitat for Humanity homes in Southeast Washington. Each ``House 
that Congress Built'' is a powerful symbol demonstrating the commitment 
of a bipartisan Congress and numerous organizations to one common goal: 
providing a decent and affordable home for every American family. It is 
also an appropriate way to kick off National Homeownership Week, which 
extends from June 7 through June 14, a campaign to emphasize local and 
national efforts to make the American dream of living in a home a 
reality.
  ``The House that Congress Built'' is supported by the National 
Partners in Homeownership, an unprecedented public-private partnership 
of organizations working to dramatically increase homeownership in 
America. Presently this partnership consists of 63 members representing 
real estate professionals, home builders, nonprofit housing providers, 
as well as local, State, and Federal levels of government. The goal of 
this partnership is to achieve an all-time high of homeownership of 67 
percent of all American households by the end of the year 2000. There 
is still much work to be done.
  This effort is only possible because of the inspiring work of Millard 
Fuller, the founder and president of Habitat for Humanity 
International, who has built over 20 years a worldwide Christian 
housing ministry. Since its creation in 1976, Habitat for Humanity and 
its volunteers have built homes with 50,000 families in need in more 
than 1,300 cities and 50 countries. As a result of Mr. Fuller's vision, 
more than 250,000 people across the globe now have safe, decent, 
affordable homes.
  In Philadelphia recently, President Clinton, President Bush, retired 
Gen. Colin Powell and others gathered together to salute the spirit of 
volunteer service that exists in this country. No other organization 
better illustrates this spirit than Habitat for Humanity. Habitat is an 
organization that brings people together. Its volunteers are as diverse 
as the people who live in the United States itself. Most important, 
Habitat for Humanity promotes what Millard Fuller describes as the 
theology of the hammer, namely, putting faith and love into action to 
serve others.
  In this case, the theology of the hammer will be applied to assist 
two very special, soon-to-be homeowners, Marlene Hunter and her family, 
and Mary Collins and her family. Even before the first nail has been 
driven, Members of Congress, corporate sponsors and these families have 
made a commitment that will be fulfilled as these two homes are built 
this summer entirely by Members of Congress and their staff.
  I want to thank my colleagues, the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. 
Gingrich], the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Gephardt], the gentlewoman 
from the District of Columbia [Ms. Norton], the gentleman from Ohio 
[Mr. Stokes], the gentleman from New York [Mr. Lazio] and the gentleman 
from Massachusetts [Mr. Kennedy] for their commitment to this unique 
effort and for joining me in introducing this resolution today. Beyond 
that, I hope my colleagues and their staff will join us throughout 
Homeownership Week and throughout the summer to complete the project 
well before ribbon-cutting time early in the fall.

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