[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 78 (Thursday, June 7, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H2985]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1415
                      NATIONAL HOMEOWNERSHIP WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Platts). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to note the advantages and 
opportunities for homeownership in recognition of National 
Homeownership Week. Those of us who own a home know the joy, the 
satisfaction, and the peace of mind that results from owning your 
``piece of the rock.''
  Homeownership is the greatest investment many Americans will make. It 
offers a means of creating wealth, an appreciating asset, with certain 
tax benefits. It instills a sense of pride and dignity and helps to 
revitalize communities where people have tended to rent their 
dwellings. It helps to make real the American dream. Indeed, the long-
term fixed-rate mortgage that so many Americans enjoy is one of the 
blessings and benefits of living in this great Nation. By contrast, 
most other nations offer only variable rates that when times are tough 
result in instability and even dislocations.
  For many years, it has been the public policy of this Nation to 
promote homeownership. We have passed the laws that make available 
grants, loans, tax credits and deductions for housing construction and 
mortgage interest payments and real estate taxes. These laws and our 
national prosperity of the last 8 years have produced today the highest 
level of homeownership in the history of the Nation.
  However, for many Americans, homeownership remains merely a dream 
deferred. The record low mortgage interest rates are not sufficient for 
persons who work full time but earn wages too low to qualify for a 
mortgage loan. The low rates do not help persons saddled with high 
debts or bad credit histories. They do not help people who live in 
communities with an insufficient stock of affordable homes, even though 
their income in other communities would be sufficient to buy a home. 
They also do not help those who do not understand the advantages and 
opportunities of homeownership or how to effectively negotiate the 
process of selecting a home, applying for and closing on a mortgage 
loan, and maintaining the home.
  I am pleased with the leadership offered by the Congressional Black 
Caucus Foundation in collaboration with national partners including 
mortgage lenders, insurers, Realtors, leaders of faith-based 
institutions, government and community leaders and credit and housing 
counselors to help identify and overcome many of the barriers to 
homeownership. Two months ago, we launched a national campaign to 
promote homeownership and to help bridge the huge racial divide in 
homeownership rates. Although more than 7 out of 10 white Americans own 
their home, only 4 out of 10 African Americans and Hispanics own their 
home.
  This national campaign is called With Ownership, Wealth, WOW. It will 
make available a variety of flexible products and services that will 
help to eliminate traditional barriers to homeownership, such as down 
payment and closing costs, and home buying and consumer credit 
counseling service to help maintain good credit and to repair credit 
histories.
  In addition to this national campaign, we will continue to conduct 
regional housing summits like we held in North Carolina in July of 
1999, in California last year, and in New York earlier this year. 
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus also will sponsor in their 
districts starting this month housing and home buyer fairs. In my 
district, I will sponsor a home buyer fair next Saturday, June 16. We 
will help our citizens better understand how to become homeowners.
  I greatly appreciate the concerns and commitment displayed by our 
partners and by my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus. I 
commend this effort to each Member of Congress to join us in promoting 
homeownership. Help us to bridge the racial disparity in homeownership 
rates. Together, we can combine public and private resources to help 
remove barriers to homeownership for many Americans across the Nation. 
Together, we can make real for many Americans the dream of owning their 
own home and realizing the American dream.

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