[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 86 (Friday, June 24, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ROSE GARCIA, RECIPIENT OF THE 2005 NATIONAL HOMEOWNERSHIP MONTH HERO 
                                 AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVAN PEARCE

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 24, 2005

  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 
accomplishments of one of New Mexico's most devoted citizens, Rose 
Garcia. This morning at the Anthony Community Center in Anthony, New 
Mexico, Rose Garcia is receiving New Mexico's 2005 National 
Homeownership Month Hero Award. For more than 20 years, she has worked 
to provide housing for residents of rural and urban communities along 
the U.S.-Mexico border. In her tireless pursuit of creating 
opportunities for affordable housing, Rose Garcia has made the American 
dream of homeownership a reality for thousands of New Mexican families.
  With this award, the New Mexico Partners in Homeownership are 
recognizing Rose especially for her work on behalf of very low income, 
underserved and colonia populations. Colonias are rural border 
communities and neighborhoods that lack safe and sanitary housing, 
along with basic conveniences we take for granted, such as sanitary 
water and sewer systems, street lighting and roads. Tierra del Sol 
Housing Corporation, of which Rose is Executive Director, not only 
provides housing but also builds the infrastructure to support these 
neighborhoods.
  There are many obstacles one faces in the quest to own a home. Rose 
Garcia helps her clients through every step of the process and provides 
special assistance in one of the most important aspects--education. 
Tierra del Sol provides homeownership counseling and training, before 
and after the home purchase. Residents are given the tools to help 
themselves and begin a new tradition of ownership--and hope. Through 
her work for the last 23 years, Rose Garcia has helped countless 
otherwise neglected persons achieve the social and financial benefits 
of homeownership, despite economic and cultural challenges.
  Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss not to mention the only other 
recipient of this esteemed award--the Honorable Joe Skeen. Congressman 
Skeen was an ardent supporter of homeownership programs in New Mexico, 
and Rose Garcia worked with him in that endeavor. She continues this 
legacy, not only through her commitment to homeownership, but in her 
dedication, her creativity and her unfaltering spirit.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to congratulate Rose Garcia on this well-
earned distinction and express my gratitude for the dedication and 
innovation she has demonstrated. I commend Rose for the hard work she 
continues to perform, and I am proud to recognize her--a true model of 
commitment to homeownership--today before my colleagues.
  ``The American Dream of Homeownership.'' For thousands of New 
Mexicans, Rose herself is a dream come true.

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