[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 83 (Thursday, June 20, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H3766-H3770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         MINORITY HOMEOWNERSHIP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kennedy of Minnesota). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2001, the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) is recognized for 60 minutes as the 
designee of the minority leader.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, this month was declared homeownership 
month, and there will be several Members who probably will be joining 
me. I know that the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek) has already 
submitted her remarks for the Record.
  Mr. Speaker, over the last few days, the President has been promoting 
an initiative to increase homeownership opportunities for minorities 
and reduce barriers. The President's interest and participation is 
welcome.
  Mr. Speaker, those of us in the Congressional Black Caucus have been 
working hard for years to correct the inequities and eliminate the 
disparities of housing opportunities for people of color and are 
pleased that the President has recognized the need for such an effort.
  All we can say is WOW. More than a year ago, the Congressional Black 
Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation launched an 
ambitious initiative called With Ownership Wealth, or WOW for short. 
The President's new plan echoes and amplifies many of our initial goals 
but may not have realized the objectives we share in common. To the 
extent the President is joining the lead of the Congressional Black 
Caucus Foundation and comprehensive group of sponsors which include the 
housing financing industry, the insurance industry Realtors and 
nonprofit organizations, including faith-based organizations, as well 
as community development organizations, it is indeed a step in the 
right direction.
  Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus and its foundation took 
the initiative on housing and homeownership opportunities because for 
too long the dream of homeownership for minorities has been a bit of 
wishful thinking. We have been working towards making those wishes a 
reality. More detailed information about the foundation's With 
Ownership Wealth, or WOW, as we call it, can be found on the Internet, 
which is www.wowcbcf.org.
 Mr. Speaker, representing a district in North Carolina that is not 
only predominantly rural but also is heavily populated by Afro-
Americans and other minorities I welcome the President's stated 
intention to step up to help create greater wealth in communities where 
housing needs are so critical. At a minimum, the administration 
announcement should increase interest of our industry players and 
minority homeownership acquisition.
  That said, I must point out that just as there is a great gap between 
majority and minority homeownership, so too there is a gap between the 
President's words or his promise or his intention and his 
administrative work. The President's announcement this week does not 
mention that his budget has slashed rural housing programs essentially 
from the 2002 level, including a 12.4 percent reduction in funds for 
guaranteeing homes for single-family housing and 11.4 percent cut in 
the Department of Agriculture direct loan for single family housing and 
a whopping 47.4 percent for direct loan for rental housing.

                              {time}  1800

  There is a significant gap between the promise and the reality. Mr. 
Speaker, African Americans nationwide have a home ownership rate of 48 
percent compared with the majority rate of 73 percent. Politicians of 
both parties, Democrat and Republican, wax rhapsodically, eloquently. 
They say great words, great phrases about the American dream. They talk 
endlessly about the American dream and the right to own a home, and 
they also talk about the United States being the land of opportunity. 
For many, yes, but not for all.
  It is time that the reality mirrors the rhetoric and the deeds match 
the words with action. It is time now that we indeed make it a reality 
that the American dream to own a home is made available not only to 
those with a lot of money, but also those who have moderate resources 
should not be denied, or those of African American or other minorities. 
It should be the right for all Americans to have that.
  So I look forward to reviewing the administration's new housing and 
home ownership proposal and look forward to working with the 
administration to pass a program to help people really realize the 
dream. The land of opportunity should mean something more than words, 
and I hope that the President's promise to reduce the barriers and to 
make home ownership available for minorities is indeed a reality, and 
that resources would indeed follow the commitment.
  I am pleased to be joined in this special order, home ownership, by 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), and I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to, first of all, thank 
the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) for her leadership 
on so many issues. I mean, she has provided outstanding leadership in 
the area of agriculture and in the area of making sure that there is 
food for people who are hungry not only here in the United States, but 
worldwide. And she has certainly been the Congressional Black Caucus's 
leader when it comes to home ownership. She has provided leadership as 
we have tried to get our WOW initiative under way, and as a matter of 
fact, it is pretty difficult to keep up with her in terms of all of the 
many areas in which she has worked, and it is certainly a pleasure to 
join with her this evening.

[[Page H3767]]

  I rise today in recognition, first of all, of Home Ownership Month 
and appreciate the opportunity to talk about an issue that is important 
to me and all of my constituents and to all Americans, especially those 
who share the dream of owning their own home. I am fortunate to 
represent one of the most diverse districts in the country. I represent 
many people who are rich, many people who are near rich, some people 
who are economically well off, the middle class. I represent people who 
like both the Cubs and the Sox. But I also represent an awful lot of 
people who are at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.
  I represent 60 percent of public housing in the city of Chicago. I 
represent people who own their own homes and a lot of people who do 
not. It is this segment of the American population, those people that 
rent their living space and want to own their own house, but either 
feel that they cannot afford to, or do not know how to purchase a house 
and then turn it into a home.
  Home ownership is important for individuals, families, and 
communities alike. There is no denying the fact that when someone owns 
their own home, there is a tendency to treat it with tender loving 
care. They work to increase its value. They cut their lawns, fix their 
windows, add additions, and take pride. Home ownership is also 
important to the family. It is a place, it is a refuge, it is a haven.
  I shall never forget growing up in this rambling house where my 
mother had this flower garden out front, and one could wake up early in 
the morning and walk out on the porch and just breathe in the aroma of 
all these flowers. Of course, it was also hazardous because you could 
not touch them, and you had better not step on one, and you certainly 
knew better than to break one. But it was a haven, as a matter of fact.
  For most Americans, buying a home is the biggest investment of their 
lives and one of the most meaningful. But for a large number of 
Americans, especially Americans of minority descent, the American Dream 
of owning their own home seems like fantasy rather than reality. 
Minority home-ownership rates are 26 percent lower than home-ownership 
rates of the majority of Americans. In my own congressional district, 
African American home ownership is down to 28 percent. In the whole 
district it is actually 38 percent, and that is a far cry from the 76 
percent that one might expect to experience.
  But buying a home is not only the best investment for the individual 
buyer and the community, it is the best investment for the owner's 
children and the children of the owner's children. It is a way of 
creating inheritable wealth. And that is why the WOW program is so 
important, because it recognizes the concept that with home ownership 
comes wealth.
  If you pay rent for 50 years, and you can pay $1,000 a month for rent 
for 50 years, and at the end of 50 years all that you have got to show 
for it is a drawer full of rent receipts; nothing that you can pass on, 
nothing that you can transfer, nothing that you can call your own, 
nothing that you can give away. There are some people who like church. 
So if you do not want to have something that you want to leave to your 
children or your grandchildren, well, you might want to bequeath it to 
some institution, some charity that you believe in, some work that you 
believe in doing. So home ownership provides you with not only a stake, 
but something to pass on.
  I am so pleased that this WOW initiative has been generated by the 
Caucus. In communities all over America that are represented by African 
American Members of Congress, this initiative is going. In my own 
district we have had two extremely successful housing fairs where we 
have had 700, 800 people come to each one. We have banks and mortgage 
companies, credit counselors, individuals who are willing to help you 
clean up your credit, help people understand that there are instances 
where you can get a house for no money down or little money down. The 
Chicago Housing Authority has even come up with a plan where people who 
have Section 8 can purchase homes using their Section 8 certificate. So 
there are lots of opportunities.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. If the gentleman will yield for a moment, I want to 
emphasize that, because the Section 8 vouchers traditionally have been 
used for rentals. And more than 2 years ago, the Congressional Black 
Caucus, in their budget submission, included that as an option.
  The House did not accept the CBC's budget, but they recognized the 
value of that proposal, and the housing bill that was passed on the 
floor included for the first time an opportunity to use the vouchers 
that are used by poor people to supplement their rent as a one-time 
supplement to go towards their down payment. That has added to the 
great upward mobility of people who are now renting, if they aggregate 
their annual rent for certain months or a year and use that as a down 
payment.
  HUD is now allowing that to happen because this House, indeed, 
approved that in the last revision or reform of a housing proposal that 
this House passed. But it was indeed the Congressional Black Caucus 
that offered that as a recommendation, and I am pleased that the 
House accepted that. And I am pleased for the gentleman to tell us that 
not only is it in the law, but actually people are using it, and that 
the gentleman is making it known to his citizens and that they are 
using it.

  So I thank the gentleman for reminding us and thank him for his 
leadership in advising his constituents of that.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Well, it was actually under the gentlewoman's 
leadership in terms of the experiences people have which give them 
special insight into problems, situations, and circumstances. Then, if 
they can bring those to a place like the Congress and work with other 
people to put them into action, then we see change.
  Now, these individuals, who may have been on public assistance, who 
may have had to live in public housing, who maybe did not have anything 
to inherit when they came along, now their children or their 
grandchildren can have a head start, a beginning. It is a concept. It 
is value-generating.
  My father is 90 years old, and one of the things he wanted to make 
sure was that he had something to leave. He has a little piece of land. 
I have been trying to get him to sell it, to use it. It is down in a 
place that I am sure nobody in my family wants to go. He refuses to do 
anything other than leave it, so that when he goes, he can say that he 
left some inheritance to his children. And, of course, I am pleased to 
be one of them, which means that I will get a little piece of the rock.
  But I just want to commend the gentlewoman again.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Well, I thank the gentleman for his leadership, too, 
and I am glad to know that he has had successful housing fairs and 
buying fairs and have had more than one. We continue to want to keep 
pushing, so I know the gentleman will continue to do that, so I thank 
him very much.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I will, indeed.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome another fearless leader 
in many areas, and who has conducted many successful housing 
activities, including a housing summit. She has been on this case about 
housing for a long time, as she was in the General Assembly of 
California as well. I am pleased to have her join us in this Special 
Order, and I will yield to her.
  Ms. LEE. Let me just thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for 
this Special Order tonight and also for her leadership over the years 
and for her mentorship since I have been in Congress with regard to the 
critical needs of rural housing as well as urban housing.
  I want to thank her for her assistance in working with my community, 
which is one of the least affordable communities, least affordable 
regions in the country to live, to help us bring affordable housing 
strategies to Alameda County, Oakland, Berkeley, the East Bay. I thank 
her for coming to our district to look at what challenges we are faced 
with.
  The unprecedented economic growth in the United States has done very 
little to relieve the problems of low-income households. While the 
nationwide home ownership rate is approaching 70 percent, the African 
American and Latino home ownership rates pale in comparison at a close 
to probably 46 percent.
  Now, in my work as a member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and 
Community Opportunity of the Committee on Financial Services, I am

[[Page H3768]]

working with my colleagues consistently on meaningful housing 
legislation and on a meaningful housing agenda. Of the 3.9 million low-
income households to be considered working poor, over two-thirds pay 30 
percent or more of their incomes to housing costs, with one-quarter 
paying over half of their incomes.
  In 39 States, 40 percent or more of renters cannot afford fair market 
rate rent for a 2-bedroom unit, and that is why creating more 
affordable housing and home ownership should really be our focus.

                              {time}  1815

  As we heard earlier, the Congressional Black Caucus continues to 
support programs that are improving access to affordable housing and 
homeownership because sound fiscal policy really must leave no one 
behind. Everyone has a right to decent, affordable housing. That should 
really be a basic human right.
  Recently, President Bush announced a new goal to help increase the 
number of minority homeowners by at least 5.5 million before the end of 
the decade. Although this is a great idea and I applaud the President 
for bringing this to the forefront of our national agenda, the reality 
is that members of the Congressional Black Caucus have been setting 
goals for minority ownership for many years. As a matter of fact, our 
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation initiated the WOW Initiative in 
2000. WOW's goal is 1 million African American and minority homeowners 
by the year 2005.
  Many of my colleagues reiterate the importance of not recreating the 
wheel. I agree. That is why it is hard to understand why the President 
would recreate an existing program and not fund it. When I say not fund 
it, creating new funds that we need to establish a down payment 
assistance program, increasing funding for current home buyer programs, 
and supporting a national housing trust fund which would use surplus 
FHA dollars for homeownership and a housing production program in our 
country.
  Consistently, since the Bush administration has drafted budgets, they 
seem to really negate the promise of homeownership and fair and quality 
housing. President Bush has cut the HUD budget this year and fights the 
creation of a national housing production program. Very recently, I 
believe last year, he cut the drug elimination program which our public 
housing authorities and tenants need so desperately to live in safe and 
secure homes.
  Today we began the markup of a major housing bill, and the debate was 
very spirited and very interesting; but in some ways very appalling. 
Those who really do not believe that the Federal Government should 
ensure decent and affordable housing for everyone really spoke their 
minds today. It was very clear that the trillions of dollars in tax 
cuts that the Republicans on our committee believe need to be the 
priority for our country, really do not see that basic housing, 
affordable housing through a production program makes sense. It makes 
sense in the sense that it is a job-creation effort. It creates an 
economic, vital country with the creation of thousands, maybe millions, 
of jobs in home building. It provides for additional units. Everywhere 
that I go and every witness who has come to our committee, which we 
heard about earlier, has said yes, a housing production program is 
badly needed. The builders, banks, Realtors, faith-based organizations, 
bar none, Republicans, Democrats, the business community, we all know 
that a housing production program is sorely needed.
  We also tried today to put an amendment in, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. LaFalce) and myself, to say basically a new down payment 
assistance program for low-income buyers, if the localities and local 
governments believe this is useful, provide foreclosure assistance and 
counseling to ensure that those homes that first-time home buyers 
purchase are secure from foreclosure and basic literacy education with 
regard to what it means to buy a house is really needed. On a 
bipartisan vote, we could not get the votes to put that modest 
amendment into the bill.
  I say this tonight because it is so important that we understand and 
recognize that a decent, affordable home is basic to survival and basic 
to a family's ability to live the American dream. For many of us, 
especially for minority communities, homeownership is the only way to 
acquire any wealth, any equity, in looking at the American dream as a 
way to finance our children's college education, start a small 
business, or whatever. It is not the stock market, it is not mutual 
funds, it is not the financial instruments that those who have money 
utilize to make money. It is homeownership that we use to really become 
part of this great society.
  I want to thank the Congressional Black Caucus and my colleague from 
North Carolina for this Special Order tonight. I hope that sooner or 
later affordable housing becomes a national priority. Education, health 
care, the environment, our national priorities should be about putting 
people first. In putting people first, affordable housing, the right to 
live in dignity, should be basic to our list of priorities.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Maryland who has been a leader on so 
many issues is going to discuss how he views housing and priorities in 
this Congress.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and 
thank the gentlewoman for her leadership. I also thank the gentlewoman 
from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton).
  Every time I think about housing, coming from the inner city of 
Baltimore, I think about the various new housing projects that we have 
been able to come up with and get built in our Seventh Congressional 
District with Hope VI dollars. Of course Hope VI has had its problems 
here.

  But one of the things that we have noticed in the change, that change 
of environment does so much for children. So often we look at children 
and we say, how can we nurture their nature to make them the very best 
that they can be.
  I believe if a child can come home and have a safe place to do their 
homework and safe place to sleep, a safe neighborhood, a place to play, 
that lends itself to productivity. It lends itself to them feeling good 
about themselves.
  I think when we look at what is happening, the gentlewoman talked 
about various things that she was trying to do with various amendments. 
All of these things show a tremendous amount of sensitivity in an 
effort to help get people to where they want to go. What happens when a 
person buys a house, their whole attitude changes. They realize that 
they can do it. I am always amazed when I talk to people, when I was 
practicing law and would go to settlement, particularly first time home 
buyers, at the end of the whole process when you give them the keys, 
they would look at me and say, This is mine?
  That sense of empowerment of what they are doing, and the mere fact 
that they can come home and say look, we have a house. I think we have 
to continue the kind of efforts that we are doing. I know so many of us 
have worked hard to try to lift up people with regard to housing. We 
are going to continue to do that. I thank the gentlewoman for her 
leadership. So often when people get to the point where they buy a 
house, as the gentlewoman said, it is like that initial step to allow 
them to go and do many, many other things.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Cummings) for raising this discussion to another level in terms of the 
importance of self-esteem and one's dignity with regard to access to 
decent and affordable housing.
  Let me share something very personal. When I was a child, my 
grandfather in Texas urged us never, ever, ever to rent. If we had to, 
okay; but he said always try to buy a house. So I grew up in a 
household with a grandfather who spoke of homeownership as a vehicle to 
living the American dream.
  When I was 19 years old, I was able to buy my first house, and that 
house cost me $19,475. Because of that through many, many challenges 
and difficulties through life, I was able to send my two children 
through college and start a small business; but it was all because of 
that one purchase of a young woman, single, on public assistance. I was 
able to buy a house and move forward from there. I think so many

[[Page H3769]]

young people deserve that access so they can do some of the things that 
they may want to do in life.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, one interesting story, when I think about 
my mother and father, neither one of them got past elementary school. 
My father was a laborer and my mother was a domestic. My father had the 
dream of becoming a homeowner. He found a beautiful house. He is a very 
prayerful man, and so he took all seven of his kids up to that house 
with my mother, and we literally kneeled in front of the house and 
prayed. I kid my father sometimes, I think the police thought we were 
protesting or something, but he had a dream. He said we would get that 
house. About a year later, we got the house.
  The interesting thing about it, though, is I was only about 10 years 
old. But to this day, some 40 years later, I still remember the name of 
the person who sold the house to us, and I also remember the previous 
owner and the broker. That says a lot. As a little kid, I remember 
that. And I will never forget going from a 2-bedroom house to a 4-
bedroom house. And to have a bedroom where there were only two of us 
sleeping instead of four of us sleeping.
  When we talk about children, it is not the deed, it is the memory 
that is empowering; and those are powerful memories, just the 
gentlewoman's are. It is interesting, housing lifts not only you, but 
generations of you yet unborn. That is very, very special.
  While we do things here in the Congress and we wonder whether or not 
they are having a tremendous amount of impact, the fact is they do have 
impact and they do affect a lot of people, and they affect people that 
we will never even possibly see.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for participating and 
also for his forward-thinking and visionary work on housing, drugs, 
AIDS, and criminal justice reform, and on each and every issue the 
gentleman tackles in this Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. 
Clayton) for this Special Order, and to urge the American people to 
really wake up in terms of this housing agenda, to know that there are 
some in Congress who are desperately trying to ensure that we have a 
national housing trust fund and a national housing production effort so 
that those who want to purchase a home or rent a home and who need 
shelter will be able to afford that. Once again, that is basic to a 
person and a family's human dignity; and they deserve to live the 
American dream. And for many, it is, quite frankly, becoming a 
nightmare.
  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank and commend the 
gentlelady, my good friend from North Carolina, Rep. Eva Clayton, for 
scheduling this important Special Order to highlight the issue of 
disparities in housing and homeownership between whites and people of 
color.
  The Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus 
Foundation have championed the cause of increased opportunities for 
home ownership for minorities. I am pleased that President Bush is now 
proposing some steps that will move this cause forward. However, he 
needs to be doing a great deal more.
  None of us can overstate the personal and social significance of 
private citizens owning their own homes. For generations of Americans, 
home ownership has been a key element of the American Dream.
  Homeownership is more than just the acquisition of property. It is a 
source of pride and personal achievement.
  Homeownership also provides a strong foundation for American 
families. It promotes good, stable environments where they can thrive.
  A home does much more than provide shelter. It's the cornerstone of 
wealth creation. For most families, buying a home is the biggest 
investment they will ever make. Building equity in a home allows the 
owner to pass wealth from generation to generation or use it for other 
important purposes such as paying for a child's education.
  Home ownership is a cornerstone of our economy. According to the 
Federal Reserve Board, owner-occupied property made up 21 percent of 
all household wealth in 2000 and more than 71 percent of all tangible 
wealth.
  Housing generates more than 22 percent of our Nation's Gross Domestic 
Product.
  The strength and stability created through individual homeownership 
radiates throughout our neighborhoods, towns and cities as well. 
Homeownership unites us in a shared commitment to safer streets, to 
improved schools, to prosperous local economies, and to community 
involvement.
  The recent economic boom of the 1990's has had a profound effect on 
homeownership. Today, an estimated 72 million American families--an 
all-time record high--now own their own homes. These Americans have 
staked their claim to the American Dream.
  For far too many minorities, home ownership remains an elusive dream.
  While the homeownership rate for white non-Hispanics reached a record 
73.8 percent in the year 2000, the rates for African Americans and 
Hispanics were significantly lower--47.6 percent and 46.3 percent, 
respectively.
  Wide disparities in homeownership also exist between central city and 
suburban areas. For example, the rate of homeownership in central 
cities was about 51 percent in 2000, compared to 74 percent in the 
suburbs.
  Metropolitan areas also have homeownership rates far below the 
national average. For example, the homeownership rate in New York City 
was only 34 percent, while it was 49 percent in Los Angeles, nearly 59 
percent in Boston, and 56 percent here in Miami.
  One reason why minorities and those in the central cities have lower 
homeownership rates is the fact that they generally have lower incomes 
than the rest of the population.
  For most people, owning a home is a simple matter of math. Households 
with family income greater than or equal to the median family income 
had a homeownership rate of nearly 82 percent in the last quarter of 
2000. In sharp contrast, the rate for households with family income 
less than the median family income was only 51.8 percent.
  In addition to the disparities in the rates of homeownership 
according to race and income, we also must address acute shortage of 
affordable housing.
  The National Low Income Housing Coalition's analysis of the 1999 
American Housing Survey data shows that there are approximately 15 
million households in the United States who pay more than half of their 
income for their housing, live in severely substandard housing, or 
both. The majority of these households--11 million--have extremely low 
incomes, that is, incomes at or below 30% of the area median.
  Because the American Housing Survey only counts people who are 
housed, to get a true picture of the number of extremely low income 
households with severe housing problems, we must add homeless families 
and individuals to this number, an estimated two to three million 
people.
  There are also 14 million very poor households with serious living 
problems. These include both renters and homeowners, and comprise over 
13 percent of all households in the country.
  Especially troubling is the fact that there are now 600,000 more 
households with worst case housing needs than 10 years ago. [Households 
with worst case needs are defined as unassisted renters with incomes 
below 50 percent of the local median, and who pay more than half their 
incomes for rent or live in severely substandard housing].
  It seems to me that the promise of America--that you will be able to 
afford housing and take care of your family if you work hard and play 
by the rules--is under a quiet but crippling assault today, an assault 
that falls disproportionately on the poor and people of color.
  The current Administration has a history of paying excellent lip 
service to this important issue, but failing to address it in a real 
and effective way. While I welcome President Bush's initiative to 
increase opportunities for home ownership for minorities, he also needs 
to propose a much stronger HUD budget and increased funding for 
programs that would substantially increase the supply of affordable 
housing in this country.
  For example, the President's budget calls for a significant cut in 
the Public Housing Capital Fund. The Public Housing Capital Fund would 
be cut by a $441 million when increased set-asides are factored into 
the equation.
  The President's budget freezes funding for HOPE VI grants to local 
authorities. This program is revolutionizing public housing by 
replacing high rises or barracks-style projects with new, mixed income, 
mixed-used communities.
  Finally, the Public Housing Operating Fund would receive an increase 
of $35 million over FY02, though still short of the combined total that 
operating fund and the Public Housing Drug Elimination Program received 
for last year. The Drug Elimination Program remains zeroed out.
  Mr. Speaker, this is hardly the housing budget of an Administration 
that understands the housing needs and housing disparities in this 
country. Let's be clear, these shortsighted cuts--and others--are 
necessary to pay for last year's Republican tax cut, which provides 
most of its benefits to those who needs them least.
  There is much more than the Administration can and should do to 
address the crisis in affordable housing.

[[Page H3770]]

  I have introduced a bill, H.R. 4205, also known as the Affordable 
Housing Improvements Act, that will enable communities with serious 
affordable housing shortages to transfer their unused Section 8 funds 
to the HOME Program--a program to build new housing for rent or 
homeownership or to the Public Housing Capital Fund--a program to 
rehabilitate existing public housing, depending on local housing needs.
  As many of you know, every year communities around the country lose 
Section 8 dollars because federally subscribed voucher payments have 
not kept pace with rapidly rising rents making it impossible for 
individuals to use these subsidies. In 2001, HUD recaptured $1.8 
billion dollars in unused Section 8 funds from Public Housing Agencies 
throughout the nation, including more than $23 million from the Miami-
Dade Housing Authority. This is a scandal and it must be stopped.
  My bill would allow local communities to attack their affordable 
housing problem by allowing them to use these scarce federal resources 
to improve and construct new affordable housing units in an effort to 
dramatically improve the nation's affordable housing problems.
  Congress also should pass the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund 
Act. This legislation would create an affordable housing trust fund 
from profits generated by the Federal Housing Administration. Over the 
next seven years, these FHA profits are expected to exceed $25 billion.
  If a portion of the FHA surplus is used to build affordable housing, 
experts predict that we could triple affordable housing construction 
next year and provide shelter for more than 200,000 families.
  Mr. Speaker, finally, our housing strategy must include measures that 
will improve the economic well-being of low-income families. This 
includes raising the minimum wage, expanding the earned income tax 
credit, improving job opportunities through education and training, and 
fostering economic development that will create better paying jobs.
  Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend President Bush 
for finally deciding to follow the lead of the Congressional Black 
Caucus and the CBC Foundation in championing the cause of increased 
opportunities for home ownership for minorities. While I am pleased 
that the White House has finally recognized the importance of this 
issue to the economic welfare of minorities, it is important to 
recognize the leadership of the CBC in advancing this issue.
  Owning a home is one of the very important markers of success in a 
person's life. From our Nation's earliest days, homeownership has been 
the foundation of the American dream. Yet, for too long, the American 
dream has been unattainable for many low-income, minority families. In 
many distressed neighborhoods, particularly in this country's urban 
communities, there is a lack of affordable housing units available to 
residents. And the costs involved in new construction of residential 
property in these areas far outweigh the revenue. Thus, homebuilders 
refrain from building new, affordable homes in low and moderate-income 
neighborhoods.
  A David Broder article in the Detroit Free Press stated that ``the 
shortage of affordable housing is close to the top of people's 
concerns. And it's mainly in the Federal Government that housing is a 
chronically neglected subject.''
  Time and again CBC Members have pointed out that Congress is not 
addressing the affordable housing needs of America's low to moderate-
income families. We are pleased that the President is heeding our 
collective voices. To the President, we say, ``thank you'' for bringing 
about greater public awareness to this problem. To the American people, 
we say, the CBC will be here, as we always have, to ensure that the 
initiatives the President proposed this past weekend are implemented 
and that homeownership opportunities increase for all Americans, 
especially those who so desperately need them.
  Through the work of the President, this Congress, and the private 
sector, we look forward to lower down payments, better education on the 
purchasing process, and overall affordable housing for all Americans, 
regardless of race, creed, or socio-economic status.

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