[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 16, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H4611-H4612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HABITAT FOR HUMANITY HOUSTON PROJECT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today for a great 
celebration and a tribute as well. This week in Houston, Texas, under 
the leadership of former President Jimmy Carter, 6,000 volunteers from 
around the Nation are participating in the 1998 Carter Work Project of 
the Habitat for Humanity resulting in 100 homes being built for the 
needy citizens of our community.
  President Carter, before the building began, said, ``We are destined 
in Houston to see a miracle, one that we will never forget.'' I can 
assure my colleagues that he is now and will be when we conclude 100 
percent correct.
  I was delighted to be able to join the 6,000 volunteers at the George 
Brown Convention Center on Sunday in the 18th Congressional District 
where we were able to celebrate their visit, volunteers from Arizona, 
Indiana, California, Pennsylvania and so many other places around this 
Nation.
  It was particularly a special time, because as many of my colleagues 
know, we have had some troubling times in Texas. Yes, we have had the 
tragedy that occurred in Jasper, Texas. I am so very pleased that that 
healing has begun. But yet the day after funeralizing Mr. Byrd and 
paying tribute to his life and to that of those who wanted to make sure 
that we live in harmony together, 6,000 Americans of all different 
colors and creeds and religions joined together to come and build a 
house. Their challenge was to build a house for the comfort and unity 
of a family and to bring a community together. I was delighted to join 
them on Sunday not only to celebrate but to uplift. For these 6,000 
souls are like the Good Samaritan. They are not too busy to stop by the 
wayside and help someone.
  The story of the Good Samaritan was that every single person that 
passed this battered and bruised person had something else to do, had 
somewhere else to go. But yet the Good Samaritan took his time and 
stopped. These 6,000 souls are like the Good Samaritan.
  In Houston alone, with some 1.7 million residents, we have over 
150,000 who are marginally homeless every night. We need housing. I was 
very gratified with volunteers who will come from my office throughout 
the week to have been able to join the volunteers yesterday on the 
first day and to work alongside of them in the sweltering heat, some 98 
degrees, but none of us really felt it, for the joy of doing something 
for someone else.
  We worked alongside the Gibson family, not unlike many families, Mr. 
and Mrs. Gibson with two children and one on the way. For the past few 
years they have lived in a small apartment in a dilapidated building, 
the whole while looking for ways that they could better their living 
situation. Like many families, they searched for options that would 
help them make a way and to also take their hard-earned money and to 
invest in something other than a landlord, paying rent. They wanted to 
own their own piece of the pie, if you

[[Page H4612]]

will, their own piece of this great Nation.
  I am so very delighted that Wade and Shalina Gibson spent their time 
yesterday along with the rest of us bending and lifting and pulling and 
nailing and placing what we call styrofoam boards, the blue boards, and 
working alongside of so many different people.
  I think their work answers the question, because I would not even 
want to address it but I have heard people say, is the Habitat for 
Humanity giving people something?
  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I believe in giving to those who are in 
need. It is our challenge to help the least of our brothers and 
sisters. But let us set the record straight. Habitat for Humanity is a 
project where those who receive the benefits of this housing are right 
in there with the rest of them. They are there toiling and building and 
lifting. We in this Nation should not be so big that we cannot give to 
those who are in need. But in this instance the Gibson family and so 
many other families, the Beck family and so many that I could not call, 
were there working hard in order to ensure a better quality of life for 
their children.
  Mr. Speaker, let me also thank the many corporate sponsors in my 
area. The Sakowitz area in the 18th Congressional District where I 
worked all day yesterday was an area that had been undeveloped and had 
been run down. How gratifying now that we will have homeowners with 
their own grass in the front yard and in the backyard, maybe a 
basketball court, the ability to go to the neighborhood park with their 
families, a community that will be developed and enriched because of 
their involvement. I want to thank those corporate sponsors for their 
support, and I want to thank this Nation and thank President Carter and 
the founders of Habitat for Humanity.
  Mr. Speaker, let me simply say, it was the best thing that I have 
seen in a long, long while. It was the true spirit of America. It makes 
me proud to be an American. And, yes, Mr. Speaker, we began it on Flag 
Day. I hope that we will see many more opportunities like that.
  I rise to acknowledge the miracles wrought by Habitat for Humanity in 
my district, throughout this week.
  Through the efforts of Former-President Jimmy and Mrs. Cater, the 
Founders of Habitat for Humanity, and 6000 miracle-working volunteers, 
100 homes will be built for needy families this week in the City of 
Houston. The volunteers come from places like Arizona, Indiana, 
California and Pennsylvania.
  President Carter, before the building began, mentioned that we were 
``destined in Houston to see a miracle, one that [we] will never 
forget''. He was 100% correct.
  I witnessed one of those miracles. For the better part of the day, 
yesterday, I and a few friends worked on the soon-to-be-home of the 
Gibson Family.
  The Gibson Family is not unlike many families in the City of Houston. 
They have two children, both girls, under the age of ten, and another 
on the way. For the past few years, they have lived in a small 
apartment in a dilapidated building, the whole while, looking for ways 
that they could better their living situation. Like many families, they 
searched for options that would keep them from having to send their 
hard-earned money to the landlord every month, knowing that they would 
never own a piece of that property. How pleased we were that they were 
able to be part of the Carter Project located on Sakcowitz Street in my 
18th congressional district in Houston.
  When Wade and Shalina Gibson heard about the possibility that they 
could own their own home, through Habitat for Humanity, they took all 
of the necessary steps to ensure their candidacy. Needless to say, they 
were ecstatic to receive the news that their application had been 
approved.

  Unlike many of the underprivileged families in Houston, the Gibson 
Family got their chance to better their status through home-ownership. 
It would take a lot of elbow-grease and hard work, but they were more 
than happy to do it. They have worked hard for the opportunity to pay a 
mortgage instead of a rent bill. They have worked hard to own part of 
the American Dream. I was honored to work along side of them in helping 
to build their home. I will never be the same. I saw a miracle truly 
happening.
  I worked along-side Wade and Shalina yesterday. Although the work was 
strenuous, especially under the hot sun, it was joyful and 
exhilarating. Shalina's passion for carpentry was particularly zealous, 
and occasionally, because she is pregnant, we had to force her to take 
short breaks. Colleagues, I hope that we can all adopt some of the 
Gibson work-ethic.
  The Gibson home will be a modest one. However, it will be cherished, 
by the parents, by their children, and eventually, by their 
grandchildren.
  You see, the Gibson home is a labor of love. Its foundation is poured 
from the concrete of community unity. Its walls are crafted by the 
goodwill and generosity of the human spirit. Its ceiling, and the 
ceiling for the Gibson Family, is limitless.
  I congratulate them, and the 99 other families who will be receiving 
homes through the Habitat for Humanity Program this week. I 
congratulate President Carter, and his army of miracle-workers, for 
their fantastic efforts to bring hope to a community that desperately 
needs it.
  I pledge my loyal support to Habitat for Humanity and the people that 
make it work--the volunteers. I ask that my colleagues do the same. 
These people truly embody the best of the human spirit, and I applaud 
their heroic efforts.

                          ____________________