[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12128-12129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      NATIONAL HOMEOWNERSHIP WEEK

  (Mr. VENTO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. VENTO. Madam Speaker, I rise to hail National Homeownership Week.
  Homeownership is one of the core values we have, I think, as 
Americans and one of the most fundamental bases for stability in our 
communities. This record homeownership rate of over 67 percent did not 
happen without leadership from the Clinton administration, from former 
Secretary Cisneros and current Secretary Andrew Cuomo.
  I think we all should be very proud of this accomplishment and the 
focus that led us to this result. Since 1993, we have nearly 8 million 
new homeowners. That is a million more families each year that have 
achieved homeownership. That has come about, obviously, because we have 
made the right decisions with regards to our budget since then. We have 
lower mortgage rates and higher employment, and new policy has helped 
in many areas for first-time homeowners, minority homeownership and, of 
course, dealing with senior citizens and reverse mortgages contracts.
  But we have much work to go before we are done. Many of our cities, 
for instance, have less than 50 percent homeownership. And by, of 
course, establishing a stake in these communities, we can be very 
helpful to changing the success of these urban areas. But we have to 
keep programs like CRA and HMDA in place, the FHA program, which has 
been so important, to continue the progress with regards to 
homeownership. These polices work hand in hand with the partnership 
approach involving the private sector, home builders, realtors, 
mortgage bankers, title insurers, Fannie Mae,

[[Page 12129]]

and Freddie Mac, and, of course, financial institutions, banks, not for 
profit roles like the community reinvestment act and a myriad of 
national polices that are tailored to respond in today's marketplace.
  I urge my colleagues and citizens across the country to celebrate 
this great event, National Homeownership Week, Homeownership the 
American dream is alive and well, Madam Speaker.

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