[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 71 (Wednesday, June 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S5595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL HOUSING CONFERENCE

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 75th 
anniversary of the National Housing Conference, NHC, an organization of 
over 900 members dedicated to forwarding the cause of affordable 
housing and community development. For the past 75 years, the National 
Housing Conference has been an important contributor to the national 
debate on housing policy. Over the years, NHC has worked to achieve the 
goal set forth in the landmark Housing Act of 1949: ``a decent home and 
a suitable living environment for every American family.''
  Organized in New York City in 1931 by the efforts of reformer and 
social worker Mary Simkhovitch, NHC has the distinction of being the 
first nonpartisan, independent coalition of national housing leaders 
from both public and private sectors. This pioneering advocacy group 
included bankers, builders, civic leaders, realtors, organized labor, 
architects, and residents. Early on, NHC was instrumental in the 
efforts to raise public awareness in New York City about the plight of 
hundreds of thousands of its people and the consequences slums had on 
the general welfare.
  In 1945, NHC moved its headquarters to Washington, DC, and took on a 
tremendous challenge: get rid of the slums, and eliminate substandard 
housing. Through the 1940s NHC forged partnerships and mobilized 
grassroots forces around the country in an effort to pass Federal 
legislation to meet this challenge. Finally, NHC's efforts were 
rewarded with the passage of the landmark Housing Act of 1949, the most 
sweeping, ambitious housing legislation the Nation had ever had. The 
act called for ``a decent home and a suitable living environment for 
every American family.''
  In the 1960s, NHC was again instrumental in the passage of the 
Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, which resulted in the 
creation of a Cabinet-level department devoted to housing.
  Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s NHC was a constant presence in 
the national debate on housing policy, and continued to advocate on 
behalf of better housing opportunities for all Americans.
  NHC continues to be a force in shaping this Nation's housing policy. 
Today, as NHC celebrates this milestone, it has rededicated itself to a 
central mission: fulfilling the dream of the 1949 Housing Act--``a 
decent home and a suitable living environment for every American 
family.'' I commend the National Housing Conference for its past 
efforts and honor the organization on this very special anniversary.

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