[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 9, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H6370-H6372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING NATIONAL HOMEOWNERSHIP MONTH

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 502) recognizing National Homeownership Month and 
the importance of homeownership in the United States.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 502

       Whereas the month of June is recognized as National 
     Homeownership Month;
       Whereas the people of the United States are one of the 
     best-housed populations in the world;
       Whereas owning a home is a fundamental part of the American 
     dream and is the largest personal investment many families 
     will ever make;
       Whereas homeownership provides economic security for 
     homeowners by aiding them in building wealth over time and 
     strengthens communities through a greater stake among 
     homeowners in local schools, civic organizations, and 
     churches;
       Whereas creating affordable homeownership opportunities 
     requires the commitment and cooperation of the private, 
     public, and nonprofit sectors, including the Federal 
     Government and State and local governments;
       Whereas homeownership can be sustained through appropriate 
     homeownership education and informed borrowers; and
       Whereas affordable homeownership will play a vital role in 
     resolving the crisis in the United States housing market: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) fully supports the goals and ideals of National 
     Homeownership Month;
       (2) recognizes the importance of homeownership in building 
     strong communities and families; and
       (3) reaffirms the importance of homeownership in the 
     Nation's economy and its central role in our national 
     economic recovery.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Waters) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Gary G. 
Miller) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. 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 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation which recognizes 
June as National Homeownership Month. As Chair of the Subcommittee on 
Housing and Community Opportunity, I am indeed committed to good public 
policy that will assist citizens to realize the American dream of 
homeownership. I would like to thank Representative Gary Miller for his 
continued leadership on ensuring that this resolution comes to the 
floor every year. This is the seventh time that he has introduced this 
resolution, and I appreciate his commitment to America's homeowners. 
Preserving homeownership is more important today than ever before, with 
foreclosures reaching record levels and millions more Americans 
struggling to stay in their homes. Homeownership has historically been 
the single most important wealth-building tool available to families in 
this country. However, homeownership, as we know it, is at risk. The 
foreclosure crisis has all but erased the gains we have made in 
increasing homeownership rates, especially for minorities; and the 
gains those families thought they had achieved through increases in 
home equity have also diminished as now 20 percent of homeowners owe 
more on their homes than they are worth.
  The combination of unemployment, unsustainable and predatory 
mortgages, and uncooperative mortgage servicers has created a perfect 
storm of record rates, of loan defaults and foreclosures. According to 
the Mortgage Bankers Association, a record 12 percent of mortgages are 
either in default or in foreclosure. According to the Center For 
Responsible Lending, 6,500 foreclosures occur each day in the United 
States. By the end of 2009, there will be 2.4 million families in 
foreclosure. We must keep families in their homes, and this Congress 
and the administration have developed programs to do just that. For 
example, the Making Home Affordable program, announced by President 
Barack Obama in March, builds on legislation I introduced at the 
beginning of this Congress to end this unending avalanche of 
foreclosures.
  Despite the commitment from the administration and Congress to reduce 
foreclosures, mortgage servicers have been reluctant to modify troubled 
loans. In fact, NeighborWorks recently found in its survey of housing 
counseling agencies that servicers are generally uncooperative. They 
take up to 60 days to respond to requests and frequently lose important 
documents. In order to be true to the spirit of National Homeownership 
Month, I call on all mortgage servicers to fully participate in the 
Making Home Affordable program and to work with families to maintain 
their ownership.
  Vulnerable homeowners are also threatened by scam artists who offer 
to

[[Page H6371]]

rescue or help struggling homeowners stay in their homes for an 
exorbitant fee that must be paid up front. They often deliver either 
nothing or a higher payment than the homeowner was paying before 
contacting these companies. The Federal Trade Commission has begun to 
crack down on these scammers, and I support these efforts.
  Prospective homeowners are also caught up in this economic crisis. 
Because they have no other home to sell, first-time homebuyers have the 
ability to help stabilize housing prices and neighborhoods. Housing 
experts are saying that now is the time to buy, but many first-time 
homebuyers are finding themselves locked out of the housing market. 
Many families who would otherwise be buying homes now lack the required 
down payment. Fortunately, the recently enacted $8,000 tax credit for 
first-time homebuyers is now being monetized so that these homeowners 
can use it to pay closing costs or to assist with their down payment.
  America's homeowners face many challenges this month and will face 
many more this year. This resolution demonstrates this Congress' 
commitment to assisting them and first-time homebuyers in achieving the 
American dream of homeownership.

                              {time}  1900

  I urge all of my colleagues to support this important resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the month of June is recognized as National 
Homeownership Month. On June 3, 2009, I introduced this bipartisan 
resolution with 12 of my colleagues, including the ranking member, and 
I would like to thank Maxine Waters. As I recall, you have been here 
every time on the floor speaking with me. You are an ardent supporter 
of housing. You understand the benefit of that to communities and how 
it really helps people who need homes.
  We are in a tough time, but we need to acknowledge the importance of 
homeownership in building strong communities and families. Owning a 
home is a fundamental part of the American Dream and is the largest 
personal investment most families will ever make.
  For millions of American families, homeownership provides an entry 
into the middle class, and is a key to building wealth. Moreover, in 
addition to providing financial benefits to individuals, homeownership 
also helps strengthen communities. Homeowners have a greater stake in 
the success of their local schools, civic organizations and churches.
  We have recently experienced significant upheaval in the U.S. housing 
market which has affected the entire economy. My home State of 
California in particular has been heavily impacted by the mortgage 
crisis, with thousands of families losing their homes. Despite all of 
this occurring in the current housing market, we need to remember that 
homeownership has historically been the single largest creator of 
wealth for most Americans.
  As someone who has been involved in the housing industry for more 
than 35 years, I have seen my fair share of housing downturns. From 
these experiences, I have learned that at a time of stress, it is 
important to ensure that liquidity continues to flow to the housing 
market in order to keep the markets functioning.
  The loan limit increases for FHA and GSEs included in enacted law are 
finally providing affordable, safe mortgages for homeowners who were 
previously forced to resort to risky loans that impaired their ability 
to keep their home.
  Additionally, I have also cosponsored the Homebuyer Tax Credit Act, 
which was introduced by my fellow Southern Californian, Ken Calvert, to 
bring stability to the housing market and encourage responsible 
homeownership. Congressman Ken Calvert's bill would expand the 
homebuyer tax credit provisions included in the enacted stimulus bills. 
During these economically challenging times, it is more important than 
ever to provide tax relief to hardworking families.
  In the first quarter of 2009, the homeownership rate was 67.3 
percent. It has become more difficult for many people to retain 
homeownership today. Many families are trying very hard just to be able 
to make their house payment each and every month.
  In the past we have seen downturns in the seventies, eighties and 
nineties. This is probably the most significant one I have ever seen. 
At this point in time we need to acknowledge that supporting 
homeownership is a worthy goal of this Congress, and I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution by voting ``yes.''
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to request of my colleague that 
we join in a little colloquy prior to going to our closing.
  Representative Miller, I know that you have been involved with real 
estate and housing and development and you understand a lot about the 
housing markets. And while we have identified that there certainly are 
problems we have been going through, a crisis with foreclosures and a 
kind of a meltdown, I am extremely hopeful that we are going to be able 
to stabilize this housing market and that we can continue to encourage 
our families to seek homeownership opportunities.
  I think we see some indications of the banks getting stronger and 
being able to pay back money that the United States citizens have 
invested in the banks in order to stabilize this housing market. But I 
would like to have your opinion: Based on your expertise and your 
involvement for so many years, do you think that we are beginning to 
have a turnaround?
  Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California. Well, you have worked very closely 
with me over the years on dealing with conforming loan limits in high-
cost areas for Freddie and Fannie, and in California we almost felt 
like stepchildren for years. The limits were so low that people in 
California could not be able to use them to buy a home, and they were 
forced into riskier loans that many times you and I fought hard to 
change.
  We have raised the GSEs and the FHA loan limit in California and are 
helping a tremendous amount of people refinance their homes, or people 
who need to sell a home and people buying a home be able to get into 
the marketplace at probably at least 100 basis points cheaper than they 
would be able to get into a jumbo loan.
  I don't know if it is over, Maxine. I really wish I could say it was. 
I remember back in the early eighties when the prime went to 21.5 
percent. You remember that. As a developer, I was paying a 24.5 percent 
interest rate for construction projects I had, and if anybody could 
even get a loan for 12 percent, they would buy a house at that point in 
time. But you couldn't get it.
  I hope we are doing what is right, providing liquidity in the 
marketplace to encourage people to take advantage of the deals that are 
out there today. But you see more and more lenders having to foreclose 
on homes, and they are putting them on the marketplace. In fact, I have 
a bill right now that Chairman Frank is going to be bringing up before 
the committee that allows banks, instead of forcing those homes on the 
marketplace, they can lease those homes for up to 5 years, and that way 
you get a lot of these distress sales off the marketplace.
  Hopefully we can find a reasonable bottom at that point in time and 
the market will start to come back. But you have such a glut of 
foreclosed properties on the market today that it keeps driving values 
down further and further, and that makes it more difficult for people 
to be able to stay in their home, because many times they owe more than 
it is worth.
  So hopefully we can get together, and we have done many of these 
things in a bipartisan fashion, and create a structure that will create 
a bottom and get us out of this. I am looking forward to that.
  But I am really thankful to you for your help and your cooperation 
and your support for the housing market. You have a passion for that, 
as I do, and I know Spencer Bachus does and Chairman Frank does also, 
and hopefully working together in a bipartisan fashion we can find a 
bottom and move the American people in a positive fashion forward.
  Ms. WATERS. Thank you very much. I do appreciate your comments, and I 
value them because of your experience.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H6372]]

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is with great enthusiasm that 
I support H. Res 502, recognizing June as National Homeownership Month 
and the importance of homeownership in the United States.
  Since the founding of this great nation, homeownership has been 
fundamentally tied to the American Dream. However, the right to own 
land or a home has not always been an inclusive one--for many 
generations homeownership was denied to communities of color and women. 
While we have taken great strides to rectify past injustices, much 
remains to be done, which reflects the importance of this resolution.
  Owning a home represents much more than a roof and walls to protect 
one's family from the elements, or a space to raise a family. A home is 
the single most valuable asset one can own, and the wealth it can 
generate over time is crucially important for rising out of poverty. 
This reason alone, reflects the irrevocable damage that the foreclosure 
crisis is inflicting on our communities.
  The bursting of the housing bubble and the economic crisis have 
resulted in the loss of countless American homes; countless dreams have 
been disrupted, and countless Americans are now struggling to deal with 
the ramifications of the actions of greedy, dishonest businesspeople 
more focused on personal gain than on truly honoring the dream of 
homeownership.
  We now find ourselves at a critical point in American history. The 
housing and financial markets are undergoing fundamental changes; and 
while the Administration and this legislative body continue to work to 
implement programs to sustain homeownership, we must not forget those 
of us who are still working to realize the dream of owning their own 
home.
  I firmly believe that homeownership should be a dream realized by 
every responsible American, and believe that we should continue to work 
to provide opportunities to make those realizations possible.
  Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California. I have no further speakers, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 502.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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