[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 24, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H3788-H3790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         NATIVE AMERICAN HOME OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2007

  Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1676) to reauthorize the program of the Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development for loan guarantees for Indian housing.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1676

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Native American Home 
     Ownership Opportunity Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. LOAN GUARANTEES FOR NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING.

       Section 184(i) of the Housing and Community Development Act 
     of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 1715z-13a(i)) is amended as follows:
       (1) Outstanding aggregate limitation.--In paragraph (5)(C), 
     by striking ``fiscal years 1997 through 2007'' and inserting 
     ``fiscal years 2008 through 2012''.
       (2) Authorization of appropriations.--In paragraph (7), by 
     striking ``fiscal years 1997 through 2007'' and inserting 
     ``fiscal years 2008 through 2012''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Boren) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oklahoma?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1676, the Native 
American Home Ownership Opportunity Act of 2007, reauthorizing the 
section 184 Indian Loan Program.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Frank and Subcommittee Chairwoman

[[Page H3789]]

Waters for their hard work in making this legislation a priority and 
recognizing the importance of the section 184 program.
  This program offers home ownership, property rehabilitation, new 
construction and refinance opportunities for Native Americans. The 
primary purpose of the section 184 program is a 100 percent loan 
guarantee program for Native American families seeking home ownership 
who are members of participating tribes; 196 federally recognized 
tribes participate in this program, including 24 tribes from my home 
State of Oklahoma. Therefore, this program works by increasing home 
ownership in Indian country and improving the quality of life in Indian 
communities. Without argument, this program increased Native American 
home ownership in Oklahoma and throughout Indian country across the 
Nation.
  Section 184 is administered by the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development's Office of Native American Programs, created in 1992 to 
address the lack of private mortgage capital in Indian country, and 
authorizing HUD to guarantee loans made by private lenders to Native 
Americans.
  The section 184 program guarantees single-family residential loans 
for Native American borrowers, and provides for a 100 percent guarantee 
of the outstanding principal and interest and payment of other 
necessary and allowable expenses. The flexible underwriting, low down 
payment, higher loan limits, loan guarantee fee, and absence of income 
limits make this the most affordable loan program available to tribal 
areas.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1676, the Native American 
Home Ownership Opportunity Act of 2007, introduced by Congressman Boren 
and Congressman Renzi.
  This important legislation authorizes section 184 of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1992, which established a loan guarantee 
program for Native American families, Indian Housing Authorities and 
federally recognized Native American tribes.
  Under current law this program is authorized through 2007. This bill 
will reauthorize the program through 2012.
  Congress established this program to provide access to private 
mortgage financing for Native American families, Indian Housing 
Authorities and federally recognized Native American tribes that could 
not otherwise acquire housing financing because of the unique legal 
status of Native American lands.
  This loan guarantee under this program is used to construct, acquire, 
refinance or rehabilitate single-family housing located on trust land 
or land located in an Indian or an Alaska native area.
  Section 184 of the program guarantees single family, one- to four-
family units, residential loans for homes located in these Indian and 
Alaska native areas where land may be tribal trust, allotted individual 
trust or fee simple. HUD offers 100 percent guarantee on the 
outstanding principal and interest and payment of necessary and 
allowable expenses.
  The flexible underwriting, low down payment, higher loan limits, low 
guarantee fee and the absence of income limits make this the most 
affordable loan program available in tribal areas.
  In 2007, about $6 million was appropriated for the loan guarantee 
program. Consequently, CBO has estimated that H.R. 1675 will cost about 
$30 million over the 2008-2012 period if appropriators continue the 
funding at the level similar to previous years. Enacting this bill does 
not affect direct spending or revenues.
  Madam Speaker, this legislation was approved by the Committee on 
Financial Services by voice vote, and I urge the passage of this 
legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Madam Speaker, it is my honor at this time to yield 3 
minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi), who is one of the 
authors of this legislation and someone who has worked tirelessly for 
Native American issues all across the country and particularly in his 
home State of Arizona.
  Mr. RENZI. Madam Speaker, the Native American Home Ownership 
Opportunity Act of 2007 is an important piece of legislation that 
reauthorizes this vital section 184 Native American housing program 
which is operated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  Back in 2004, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, 
chaired by former Congressman Bob Ney, held the first congressional 
hearing on Native American housing in the history of the United States 
Congress on tribal lands in Tuba City, Arizona, out west on Navajo 
country. And many of the folks from both sides of the aisle got 
together and went out there and visited the Grand Canyon and got a 
chance to see the Navajo Nation, the pink stones and the sands, and 
they got to visit the country and truly see the beauty and the 
conditions, but also the largest land mass of poverty in America, the 
size of West Virginia. And Bob Ney helped make that happen. And that 
hearing was important because it brought light to the challenges that 
face Native Americans when trying to achieve home ownership.
  Native Americans, as a group, have the single lowest home ownership 
rate in America, less than 25 percent. And the problem is especially 
acute on the Navajo Nation.
  So this section 184 program provides 100 percent guarantees to the 
outstanding principal and interest for single-family residential homes. 
And to date, over 4,200 loans have been guaranteed by this program. Now 
everybody is out there talking about subprime lending and the default 
and the foreclosures. Only 30 loans in this Native American program 
have ever been defaulted on, less than 1 percent. This low rate greatly 
shows the efficiency of section 184, and the program has received the 
highest rating of America's Office of Management and Budget, even 
though it doesn't need it. This year it is expected that the program 
will enable private lenders to finance about 1,600 new mortgages.
  So I want to thank Congressman Boren of Oklahoma, Chairman Frank, who 
has been absolutely bipartisan and forward-thinking in pushing housing 
issues, particularly on Native American, Chairman Waters and the 
subcommittee, Chairman Biggert, and I want to thank Bob Ney for his 
advocacy for the poor around America and for Native American housing. 
If my colleagues don't think this is good, they don't know what is 
good.
  Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to thank also my friends, Congressmen Neugebauer from Texas 
and Renzi from Arizona for their work on this legislation and for their 
bipartisan effort here.
  According to HUD, 4,200 loans have been guaranteed since the 
inception of the program, totaling $517 million. As lenders have become 
more comfortable with making loans secured by land in Indian country, 
interest in this program has only increased. My home State of Oklahoma 
represents 34 percent of the total loans guaranteed through section 
184, thereby increasing the number of my constituents who have access 
to home ownership.
  Again, I want to thank Chairman Frank and Subcommittee Chairwoman 
Waters for recognizing the importance of the section 184 program in 
Indian country.
  Mr. BACA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for 
H.R. 1676, the Native American Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2007. 
This important legislation reauthorizes the Section 184 Indian Loan 
Program, which offers home ownership, property rehabilitation, new 
construction, and refinance opportunities for Native Americans.
  I want to thank my friend, Mr. Boren, for sponsoring this bill and 
championing this cause which is of great significance to so many Native 
families in this country.
  Section 184 advances the opportunity for Native Americans seeking 
homeownership and addresses the issue of lack of mortgage lending for 
homes in Indian Country.
  The Section 184 program guarantees single-family residential loans 
for Native American borrowers, thereby increasing the homeownership for 
Native Americans.

[[Page H3790]]

  While many Native Americans struggle to own a home and provide for 
their families, H.R. 1676 eases that burden. The program provides a 100 
percent guarantee of the outstanding principal and interest and payment 
of other necessary and allowable expenses.
  Section 184 allows for many Native Americans to become first-time 
homeowners. According to HUD, since the start of the program roughly 
4,200 loans have been guaranteed.
  Almost 200 tribes participate in the Section 184 program nationwide, 
31 of which are from my home State of California.
  In the Inland Empire alone, the Saboba Band of Luiseno Indians, the 
Cabazon Band of Cahulla Mission Indians and the Morongo Band of Mission 
Indians have been able to provide homeownership for many families 
through this program.
  H.R. 1676 will help close the homeownership gap and increase for 
Native Americans in my area and all across the country. Let's help all 
Americans achieve the dream of owning a home.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.
  Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Boren) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1676.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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