[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 120 (Thursday, June 23, 1994)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 32309-32310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-15463]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 23, 1994]


  


                        Presidential Documents 


Federal Register
Vol. 59, No. 120
Thursday, June 23, 1994

____________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President
                Proclamation 6702 of June 21, 1994

 

National Housing Week, 1994

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Homeownership is a great anchor of safety and security 
                in an uncertain world, one of America's most potent 
                symbols of freedom and responsibility, of opportunity 
                and prosperity. The Federal Housing Administration 
                (FHA) has helped to make homeownership and decent 
                affordable housing a reality for millions of Americans, 
                who otherwise might not have had the opportunity.

                On this, the 60th anniversary of the establishment of 
                the FHA, our Nation must rededicate itself to renewing 
                the effort upon which it embarked in 1934 to expand 
                homeownership opportunities for millions of Americans. 
                For shelter is not only a basic human need--it also 
                affects our physical and mental well-being, provides us 
                with a sense of security, and is the focus of family 
                living.

                America is a country of many blessings--a rich land, a 
                thriving democracy, a diverse and determined people. 
                Our culture is built on faith in freedom and on the 
                spirit of community. In a nation of such infinite 
                promise, the continuing problem of homelessness is a 
                national tragedy. We must seek a proper balance of 
                compassion and practicality if we are to end the 
                terrible plight of our society's dispossessed.

                Homelessness is not a short-term emergency. It demands 
                longer term, broader solutions--an array of services to 
                meet the different needs of people who find themselves 
                on the streets. Toward this end, my Administration is 
                proposing a new rent structure for publicly assisted 
                housing, and we are expanding on innovative ways to 
                create a new partnership between cities and the Federal 
                Government to provide those in need with critical 
                social services and permanent housing.

                As a direct result of the action taken by the Congress 
                and President Franklin D. Roosevelt in creating the 
                FHA, housing finance was revolutionized, new standards 
                of housing industry innovation and consumer protection 
                were created, and the dream of homeownership for more 
                than 21 million American families has since been 
                realized through FHA funding. Housing is vital to the 
                economic and social well-being of our Nation, and it is 
                essential to the vitality and stability of our 
                communities today, just as it was 60 years ago.

                In the years since the Great Depression, the FHA has 
                come to symbolize America's commitment to expanding 
                opportunity for improved housing and homeownership. As 
                the challenges facing the Nation during the birth of 
                FHA were formidable, so are the challenges facing our 
                Nation today.

                We recognize the importance of a decent home and 
                suitable living environment as a national goal for 
                every American family. The contributions of the FHA 
                toward the attainment of that goal are a crucial step 
                in helping to save countless people from a lonely, 
                often frightening existence. Working together, we can 
                restore hope and dignity to the lives of the many 
                Americans who have no place to call home.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim the week of June 20 through 
                June 27, 1994, as ``National Housing Week,'' and I call 
                upon the people of the United States and interested 
                groups and organizations to observe this week with 
                appropriate activities and events. Let us renew the 
                commitment made 60 years ago and rededicate our Nation 
                to the unfinished business of housing and community 
                development for all Americans.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-first day of June, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and eighteenth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)>

[FR Doc. 94-15463
Filed 6-21-94; 4:51 pm]
Billing code 3195-01-P