[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 23, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S7540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SANTA CLARA COUNTY HOUSING TRUST FUND

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 
accomplishments of a remarkable public/private partnership in 
California's Silicon Valley that is moving aggressively to address a 
problem which plagues many communities: the shortage of available and 
affordable housing.
  In Silicon Valley, the fast-growing home to some of the Nation's most 
dynamic and innovative high technology firms, housing costs have risen 
as dramatically as the supply of available housing has diminished. 
Since 1992, Santa Clara County has created some 250,000 new jobs; 
however, only 50,000 new homes and apartments have been constructed. 
This combination of rapid growth and scarce housing has created a 
volatile situation in which renters and potential home buyers alike 
must compete mercilessly for the few units that are to be found. To 
address this challenge, a coalition of concerned businesses, nonprofit 
groups and local governments formed the Santa Clara County Housing 
Trust Fund.
  The Santa Clara County Housing Trust Fund is a broad-based working 
group consisting of the Community Foundation of Silicon Valley, the 
Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, the Santa Clara County 
Collaborative on Housing and Homelessness, the Santa Clara County Board 
of Supervisors, the Housing Action Coalition and the Housing Leadership 
Council. Through donations from nonprofit organizations, commitments 
from local governments and financial backing from the business 
community, the trust fund hopes to raise $20 million. With this money, 
the trust fund plans to house more than 1,000 homeless individuals and 
families, assist in building up to 3,000 new apartments and help nearly 
800 first-time home buyers.
  I pay special tribute to five companies that recently pledged a 
remarkable $1 million to the trust fund, hopefully paving the way for 
other Silicon Valley businesses to follow suit. On June 10, Adobe 
Systems, Applied Materials, Cisco Systems, Kaufman & Broad, and the 
Solectron Corporation each stepped up to the plate with contributions 
sure to improve the quality of life in their communities. This is 
responsible corporate citizenship at its best. I hope that these five 
companies represent only the first wave of firms that will rise to the 
challenge of tackling the housing problems in Silicon Valley.

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