[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11872]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HOMEOWNERSHIP AND JOB NUMBERS

  (Mr. PRICE of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, June is Homeownership Month and 
the housing market continues to be a catalyst for a growing economy. 
Just last quarter, growth figures were revised higher, growing at a 3.5 
percent annual rate. For the past 2 years, the U.S. economy has grown 
faster than the economy of any major industrialized nation. Since May 
of 2003, over 3.5 million jobs have been created with 24 straight 
months of job growth. That is 2 years of putting people back to work, 2 
years of more people collecting paychecks. What is even more impressive 
is the fact that the unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent, the 
lowest level since 9/11.
  Many things are behind these positive job numbers, but one thing in 
particular is the strength of our housing market. Homeownership is at 
near record levels with nearly 70 percent of American families now 
owning their own homes. Sales of existing U.S. homes climbed 4.5 
percent in April. In 2004, home prices posted the biggest gain in 25 
years.
  Madam Speaker, these steady gains are great news. They show that more 
people are working, more people are collecting paychecks, more people 
are owning their own homes, and more people are realizing the American 
Dream. This direction should be celebrated.

                          ____________________