[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 78 (Friday, May 23, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S7172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES TO PROVIDE DECENT HOMES TO PEOPLE IN THE UNITED 
                                 STATES

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Banking 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Con. Res. 43, 
and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 43) expressing the 
     sense of the Congress that Congress should participate in and 
     support activities to provide decent homes for the people of 
     the United States.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 43) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 43

       Whereas the United States promotes and encourages the 
     creation and revitalization of sustainable and strong 
     neighborhoods in partnership with States, cities, and local 
     communities;
       Whereas the United States promotes and encourages the 
     creation and revitalization of sustainable and strong 
     neighborhoods in partnership with States, cities, and local 
     communities and in conjunction with the independent and 
     collective actions of private citizens and organizations;
       Whereas establishing a housing infrastructure strengthens 
     neighborhoods and local economies and nurtures the families 
     who reside in them;
       Whereas an integral element of a strong community is a 
     sufficient supply of affordable housing;
       Whereas affordable housing may be provided in traditional 
     and nontraditional forms, including apartment buildings, 
     transitional and temporary homes, condominiums, cooperatives, 
     and single family homes;
       Whereas for many families a home is not merely shelter, but 
     also provides an opportunity for growth, prosperity, and 
     security;
       Whereas homeownership is a cornerstone of the national 
     economy because it spurs the production and sale of goods and 
     services, generates new jobs, encourages savings and 
     investment, promotes economic and civic responsibility, and 
     enhances the financial security of all people in the United 
     States;
       Whereas although the United States is the first nation in 
     the world to make owning a home a reality for a vast majority 
     of its families, \1/3\ of the families in the United States 
     are not homeowners;
       Whereas a disproportionate percentage of families in the 
     United States that are not homeowners are low-income 
     families;
       Whereas 74.2 percent of Caucasian Americans own their own 
     homes, only 47.1 percent of African Americans, 47.2 percent 
     of Hispanic Americans, and 55.8 percent of Asian Americans 
     and other races are homeowners;
       Whereas the community building activities of neighborhood-
     based nonprofit organizations empower individuals to improve 
     their lives and make communities safer and healthier for 
     families;
       Whereas one of the best known nonprofit housing 
     organizations is Habitat for Humanity, which builds simple 
     but adequate housing for less fortunate families and 
     symbolizes the self-help approach to homeownership;
       Whereas Habitat for Humanity is organized in all 50 States 
     with 1,655 local affiliates and its own section 501(c)(3) 
     Federal tax-exempt status and locally elected completely 
     voluntary board of directors;
       Whereas Habitat for Humanity has built nearly 150,000 
     houses worldwide and endeavors to complete another 50,000 
     homes by the year 2005;
       Whereas Habitat for Humanity provides opportunities for 
     people from every segment of society to volunteer to help 
     make the American dream a reality for families who otherwise 
     would not own a home; and
       Whereas the month of June has been designated as ``National 
     Homeownership Month'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) everyone in the United States should have a decent home 
     in which to live;
       (2) Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives 
     should demonstrate the importance of volunteerism;
       (3) during the years of the 108th and 109th sessions of 
     Congress, Members of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives, Habitat for Humanity, and contributing 
     organizations, should sponsor and construct 2 homes in the 
     Washington, D.C., metro area each as part of the ``Congress 
     Building America'' program;
       (4) each Congress Building America house should be 
     constructed primarily by Members of the Senate and the House 
     of Representatives, their families and staffs, and the staffs 
     of sponsoring organizations working with local volunteers 
     involving and symbolizing the partnership of the public, 
     private, and nonprofit sectors of society;
       (5) each Congress Building America house should be 
     constructed with the participation of the family that will 
     own the home;
       (6) in the future, Members of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives, their families, and their staff should 
     participate in similar house building activities in their own 
     States as part of National Homeownership Month; and
       (7) these occasions should be used to emphasize and focus 
     on the importance of providing decent homes for all of the 
     people in the United States.

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