[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 173 (Monday, November 24, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S15874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     AMERICAN DREAM DOWNPAYMENT ACT

  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Banking 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 811 and the 
Senate now proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 811) to support certain housing proposals in the 
     fiscal year 2003 budget for the Federal Government, including 
     the downpayment assistance initiative under the HOME 
     Investment Partnership Act, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, we spend a lot of time talking about 
homeownership, both in the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 
Committee and back in our States. I want to spend just a moment 
reminding everyone why some of us put so much effort into achieving 
this very important goal for so may American families.
  Homeownership is an asset-building engine for families and 
neighborhoods, indeed for society as a whole. When a family buys a 
home, they are buying more than bricks and mortar. They are buying into 
a community. With each homeowner, we create another anchor in a 
neighborhood, another advocate for better schools, safer streets, and 
small business development.
  Expanding homeownership, particularly in struggling areas, will help 
replace the vicious cycle of decline that we see in some neighborhoods 
with a virtuous cycle of wealth accumulation and economic growth. Once 
you own a home, you are able to build equity, equity that can be used 
to send your children to college, finance your retirement, and serve as 
a needed reserve to protect against emergencies.
  Increasing homeownership, and especially minority homeownership, has 
long been a national goal. In fact, the Joint Center for Housing 
Studies at Harvard points out that the 1990s was a period of 
significant growth in minority homeownership and in mortgage lending to 
minorities. Unfortunately, over the last few years, we have seen that 
progress level off as the economy has cooled down.
  Today, we bring before the Senate S. 811, the American Dream 
Downpayment Assistance Act, originally introduced by my colleague on 
the Banking Committee, Senator Allard. This bill authorizes $200 
million for a downpayment assistance program targeted to first time, 
low-income homebuyers. I support this legislation, and I appreciate the 
efforts of the Senator from Colorado, as well as Chairman Shelby. I 
also note that the bill includes important provisions to expand the 
supply of affordable rental housing. Senator Corzine amended the bill 
to raise the FHA multifamily loan limits to account for the rising 
costs of producing rental housing. This amendment will facilitate the 
annual construction of up to 6,000 units of multifamily housing 
affordable to working families around the country. This is an important 
contribution to the legislation we are considering.
  Likewise, Senator Johnson has contributed a provision to make the FHA 
single family adjustable rate mortgage, ARMs, insurance program more 
effective. ARMs are an important tool in helping families achieve 
homeownership, and the Johnson amendment will be a welcome addition to 
the FHA program.
  Finally, I would like to thank Senator Stabenow for bringing to the 
attention of the committee the special needs of a growing segment of 
our population, families headed by grandparents. The legislation 
includes an amendment that will create a demonstration program to 
examine how existing HUD programs can better serve these families. It 
also requires HUD to study ways in which barriers to existing programs 
for these families may be reduced.
  Again, I want to thank Chairman Shelby, as well as Senators Allard 
and Reed, chair and ranking member of the Housing Subcommittee, for all 
their work on this legislation and for their willingness to work in a 
bipartisan way to produce a good final product. I also want to thank 
Chairman Oxley, Ranking Member Frank, and the other members of the 
House Financial Services Committee for their contributions to this 
process and this product.
  I support passage of the American Dream Downpayment Assistance Act 
and urge it passage.
  Mr. ENSIGN. I ask unanimous consent that the substitute amendment at 
the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read the third time and 
passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any 
statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2216) was agreed to.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  The bill (S. 811), as amended, was read the third time and passed.

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