[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 35 (Thursday, March 15, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S2383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HOUSE THE SENATE BUILT

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I will be participating in the Habitat for 
Humanity ``House the Senate Built.'' We will be breaking ground March 
17th at 1:00 p.m. This home will be built for the Portillo family at 
1209 Raven Place in Loveland, Colorado. I am especially proud to be 
working with the Loveland Habitat for Humanity chapter because Loveland 
is my hometown. In addition, the Loveland chapter has existed for 14 
years and, in that time, they have built 41 houses. Forty-one families 
that may have never been in a position to own a home, are now 
homeowners thanks to the Loveland chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
  This is not my first involvement with Habitat for Humanity. During 
the Republican Convention last year my wife Joan and I had the 
opportunity to work on a project with the Philadelphia chapter of 
Habitat. I have also participated in builds with Colorado affiliates in 
Fort Morgan and in Loveland. This September Habitat International will 
be celebrating their Silver Anniversary. Since its inception, Habitat 
has built a total of 100,000 houses.
  When I reflect on my vision of housing assistance, an old saying 
comes to mind: ``If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If 
you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.'' I am especially 
supportive of Habitat for Humanity because the way that they operate as 
an organization, fits this old saying perfectly. While Habitat homes 
are purchased by the individual homeowner families, corporations, faith 
groups and others all provide financial support and assistance in 
building the home, and the work is organized at the local level. 
Instead of relying solely on perennial handouts from the government, 
Habitat seeks out both private and community resources to form a 
partnership that results in homes for people who, otherwise, may not 
have them. This approach works because people at the local level are 
best equipped to know who needs assistance and are most familiar with 
the way that local systems operate. Homeowner families are chosen by 
the local Habitat affiliate according to their need; their ability to 
repay the no-profit, no-interest mortgage; and their willingness to 
work in partnership with Habitat. Each family is responsible for paying 
back their loan and participating in the building of their own home. 
All of this indicates that Habitat is far more interested in helping 
people to create a new life for themselves than they are in simply 
putting a roof over their heads. Put quite simply, Habitat is a very 
effective way to promote the American dream of home ownership.
  On this same note, I would also like to talk for a moment about two 
people that I hold in high esteem. The first person I would like to 
recognize is someone whom I can say, with very little bias, is one of 
the most wonderful women in the world: my wife Joan. She is someone who 
often seems tireless in her willingness to pitch in. This willingness 
was exemplified again at the House the Senate Built. Now, as I said 
before, Joan has worked on several of the Habitat projects with me, and 
this project was no exception. Just before the Senate members departed 
the building site to return to the Capitol, many of us passed our 
hammers on to our spouses so that they could continue building into the 
afternoon. I was proud to be able to hand my hammer over to Joan. She 
came home exhausted, but pleased with the progress that was made on the 
home, which I understand was considerable. In fact, I am told that when 
a crew member was walking back to the building site with several of the 
ladies Joan warned him that ``now that the men are gone it's time for 
the real work to begin.'' She then put in several hours in her hardhat 
pounding nails, stuffing insulation and lending a hand wherever it was 
needed.

  The second is Colorado's first lady Frances Owens. She has made 
Habitat for Humanity projects a top priority since her husband was 
elected several years ago. She has participated in three builds within 
the last few years and will now be host to a program called Women 
Building a Legacy. This program will take place May 5-11 in Montbello, 
a suburb of Denver. Women Building a Legacy will be a blitz build that 
will result in five houses in seven days. These homes will be a much 
needed addition to the Montbello neighborhood where they are to be 
built and I commend Mrs. Owens for her efforts.
  Again, I say thank you to Habitat for Humanity for the services that 
they provide to so many communities throughout America and the world, 
thank you to Frances Owens for the work that she does on behalf of 
Habitat and thank you to my wife Joan for always being willing to do 
what needs to be done for no bigger reason than because it needs to be 
done.

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