    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [June 17, 2002]
    [Pages 997-1002]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at St. Paul AME Church in Atlanta, Georgia
    June 17, 2002

        The President. Thank you all very much for that wonderful Atlanta
    welcome. It's nice to be back in this incredibly important community.
        You know, our Nation faces a lot of huge challenges. Right now we've
    got 60,000 troops fighting terrorism so that we can be free, all of us
    can be free. I appreciate so very much the resolve and unity and
    determination of this great land. I appreciate our military for their
    sacrifices. We're also doing everything we can to secure the homeland,
    to make sure that those who hate us won't take innocent life again.
        And as we work for a more secure world, we've got to work for a
    better world too. And that means, as we work on our security from
    possible attacks by terrorists, we also work on economic security. The
    two securities go hand in hand. Anybody who wants a job who can't find
    one means we've got a problem. In Washington, they talk statistics all
    the time, and that's important. People who count numbers need to make a
    living too. [Laughter] But my attitude is, if somebody can't find work
    and they want to work, we've got to continue to work on expanding the
    job base.
        And part of economic security is owning your own home. Part of being
    a secure America is to encourage homeownership, so somebody can say,
    ``This is my home. Welcome to my home.''
        Now, we've got a problem here in America that we have to address.
    Too many American families, too many minorities do not own a home. There
    is a homeownership gap in America. The difference between Anglo America
    and African American and Hispanic homeownership is too big. And we've
    got to focus the attention on this Nation to address this. And it starts
    with setting a goal. And so by the year 2010, we must increase minority
    homeowners by at least 5\1/2\ million. In order to close the
    homeownership gap, we've got to set a big goal for America and focus our
    attention and resources on that goal.
        And I picked a good man to help realize that goal, in Mel
    Martinez. I don't know if you know Mel's
    story, but it's an interesting story. Mel was born in Cuba. [Applause]
    Yes, Mel brought his cousins with him--[laughter]--all two of them,
    anyway. [Laughter] But Mel's mother and daddy--Mel's mother and dad put
    him on an airplane to come to America when he was a young boy, because
    they didn't want his son growing up in a country that wasn't free. Think
    about that; think about the courage of a mom or a dad and their love for
    freedom--love freedom so much that they would put their child in the
    hands of loving Americans. And Mom and Dad eventually came. And here he
    now sits, as a member of the President's Cabinet. What a great country
    we have.
        My point is, Mel understands what it
    means to dream and then to work to realize the dreams. I've also picked
    a fine friend

    [[Page 998]]

    of mine from Texas named Alphonso Jackson to serve as the Deputy of HUD. And where are you,
    Alphonso? There he is. I appreciate you. These are can-do people. So
    when we set a goal, they understand their job is to work toward that
    goal.
        I also want to thank the mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, for being here,
    Shirley Franklin. Thank you for coming,
    Madam Mayor. Much of the success of this program is going to depend--
    depends upon the ability for the Federal Government to work with State
    and local governments. And I know the mayor has got a strong commitment
    to housing for all people and to end the ownership gap. Madam Mayor,
    thanks for coming.
        I appreciate as well Johnny Isakson and
    John Linder, members of the Georgia
    congressional delegation, for coming today. Thank you all for being
    here. I want to thank Franklin Raines of
    Fannie Mae and Leland Brendsel of Freddie
    Mac. Thank you all for coming.
        Today I had the pleasure of seeing an entrepreneur's work firsthand,
    an Atlanta citizen who also dreamt a dream, and that is to develop a
    piece of blighted property so others could benefit from her vision and
    hard work. Masharn Wilson is here. She is a
    president and CEO--Masharn is the president and CEO of her own company.
    Part of the economic security is not only owning a home; part of it is,
    if you have the entrepreneurial instincts, is to own your own business
    as well. So I want to appreciate you, Masharn. I appreciate your hard
    work.
        And one other person I want to announce is a fellow named Darryl
    Hicks. Where are you, Darryl?
        Darryl Hicks. Right here.
        The President. There you are. Darryl Hicks
    is here. I want to--Darryl is--one of the things I remind our fellow
    citizens, if you're interested in defeating evil, do some good. You see,
    we're going to fight with our military, but we can also fight with our
    hearts. And a country which has been under attack can respond by loving
    your neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself.
        And this man right here is a fellow, Darryl Hicks, who works for Habitat for Humanity programs. He's
    interested in lending his heart and his talents to helping a neighbor in
    need. America can be changed one heart, one soul, one conscience at a
    time, so long as we are willing to love a neighbor like we'd like to be
    loved ourselves. I want to thank you, Darryl. I want to thank Darryl for
    being a soldier in the army of compassion.
        And I also want to thank Reverend Dr. Thomas Bess for opening up this beautiful church. You know, one of
    my passions is the Faith-Based Initiative. It is important that Congress
    not fear faith-based programs but welcome faith-based programs, so we
    can help change people's lives. I find it most interesting that we would
    be talking about how we help people in a church. After all, that's why
    churches exist.
        Audience members. Um-hmm.
        The President. And so I am--I want to thank the church staff for
    opening up this beautiful facility to the army which follows me around.
    [Laughter]
        I do believe in the American Dream. I believe there is such a thing
    as the American Dream. And I believe those of us who have been given
    positions of responsibility must do everything we can to spotlight the
    dream and to make sure the dream shines in all neighborhoods, all
    throughout our country. Owning a home is a part of that dream; it just
    is. Right here in America, if you own your own home, you're realizing
    the American Dream.
        You know, today I went to the--to some of the home--met some of the
    homeowners in these newly built homes, and all you've got to do is shake
    their hand and listen to their stories and watch the pride that they
    exhibit when they show you the kitchen and the stairs. So people like
    Ken Beatty, who is an environmentalist; or

    [[Page 999]]

    Al Smith, a probation officer; or Geary Jefferson,
    a database administrator; or Darrin West, an
    Atlanta police officer; Tamika Henry--Tomika Henry Cole: These are all people that I've met. They've come over
    here today. They showed me their home. They didn't show me somebody
    else's home; they showed me their home. And they are so proud to own
    their home, and I want to thank them for their hospitality, because it
    helps the American people really understand what it means.
        And what we've got to do is to figure out how to make sure these
    stories are repeated over and over and over again in America. Three-
    quarters of White America owns their homes. Less than 50 percent of
    African Americans are part of the homeownership in America, and less
    than 50 percent of the Hispanics who live here in this country own their
    home. And that has got to change for the good of the country; it just
    does.
        And so here are some of the ways to address the issue. First, the
    single greatest barrier to first-time homeownership is a high
    downpayment. It is really hard for many, many low-income families to
    make the high downpayment. And so that's why I propose and urge Congress
    to fully fund the American Dream Downpayment Fund. This will use money,
    taxpayers' money, to help a qualified low-income buyer make a
    downpayment, and that's important.
        One of the barriers to homeownership is the inability to make a
    downpayment. And if one of the goals is to increase homeownership, it
    makes sense to help people pay that downpayment. We believe that the
    amount of money in our budget, fully approved by Congress, will help
    40,000 families every year realize the dream of owning a home. Part of
    the success of Park Place is that the city of Atlanta already does this.
    And we want to make the plan more robust. We want to make it more full
    all across America.
        Secondly, there is a lack of affordable housing in certain
    neighborhoods. Too many neighborhoods, especially in inner-city America,
    lack affordable housing units. How can you promote homeownership if
    people can't afford a home?
        And so what I've done is propose what we call a single-family
    affordable housing tax credit, to encourage the development of
    affordable housing in neighborhoods where housing is scarce. Over 5
    years, the initiative amounts to $2.4 billion in tax credits, and that
    will help. It will help a lot to build homes where people can--where
    when fully implemented, people will be able to say, ``I own my home.''
        A third major barrier is the complexity and difficulty of the home
    buying process. There's a lot of fine print on these forms. And it
    bothers people; it makes them nervous. And so therefore, what
    Mel has agreed to do and Alphonso
    Jackson has agreed to do is to streamline
    the process, make the rules simpler, so everybody understands what they
    are--makes the closing much less complicated. We certainly don't want
    there to be a fine print preventing people from owning their home. We
    can change the print, and we've got to.
        We've got to be wise about how we deal with the closing documents
    and all the regulations but also wise about how we help people
    understand what it means to own their home and the obligations and the
    opportunities. And so, therefore, education is a critical component of
    increasing ownership throughout America: Financial education, housing
    counseling, how to help people understand that there are unscrupulous
    lenders. And so one of the things we're going to do is, we're going to
    promote education, the education of owning a home, the education of
    buying a home throughout our society.
        And we want to fully implement the Section 8 housing program,
    homeownership program. The program will provide vouchers that first-time
    home buyers can use to help pay their mortgage or apply to their
    downpayment. Many of the partners today, many of the people here today,
    many of

    [[Page 1000]]

    the business leaders here today are creating a market for the mortgages
    where Section 8 vouchers are a source of the payment, and that's good.
    See, it's an underpinning of capital. It helps move capital to where we
    want capital to go.
        And so these are important initiatives that we can do at the Federal
    Government. And the Federal Government, obviously, has to play an
    important role, and we will--we will. I mean, when I lay out a goal, I
    mean it. But we also have got to bring others into the process, most
    particularly the real estate industry. After all, the real estate
    industry benefits when people are encouraged to buy homes. It's in their
    self-interest that we encourage people to buy homes.
        And so one of the things that I'm going to talk about a little bit
    today is how to create a sustained commitment by the private sector that
    will have a powerful impact. First of all, we want to make sure that we
    help work to expand capital available to buyers and, as I mentioned,
    overcome the barriers that I've delineated as well as provide the
    education component. In other words, this is not just a Federal
    responsibility.
        That's why I've challenged the industry leaders all across the
    country to get after it for this goal, to stay focused, to make sure
    that we achieve a more secure America by achieving the goal of 5\1/2\
    million new minority homeowners. I call it America's homeownership
    challenge.
        And let me talk about some of the progress which we have made to
    date, as an example for others to follow. First of all, Government-
    sponsored corporations that help create our mortgage system--I
    introduced two of the leaders here today; they call those people Fannie
    Mae and Freddie Mac--as well as the Federal Home Loan Banks will
    increase their commitment to minority markets by more than $440 billion.
    I want to thank Leland and
    Franklin for that commitment. It's a
    commitment that conforms to their charters as well and also conforms to
    their hearts. This means they will purchase more loans made by banks to
    African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities, which will encourage
    homeownership.
        Freddie Mac will launch 25 initiatives to eliminate homeownership
    barriers. Under one of these, consumers with poor credit will be able to
    get a mortgage with an interest rate that automatically goes down after
    a period of consistent payments.
        Fannie Mae will establish 100 partnerships with faith-based
    organizations that will provide home buyer education and help increase
    homeownership for their congregations. I love the partnership.
        The Enterprise Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support
    Corporation will increase efforts to build and rehabilitate more homes
    in inner cities at affordable prices by working with local community
    development corporations. In my home State of Texas, Enterprise helped
    turn the once-decaying Ideal Neighborhood of Dallas into a vibrant
    community by building homes that were sold to residents at affordable
    prices.
        The National Association of Home Builders will team up with local
    officials, homebuilder associations, and community groups in 20 of our
    Nation's largest housing markets, to focus on how to eliminate barriers
    and encourage homeownership.
        The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation will dramatically expand
    financial and home buyer education efforts to 380,000 minority families.
        The Neighborhood Housing Services of America will raise $750 million
    to promote homeownership initiatives in many communities.
        We're beginning to use the Internet better, so that realtors all
    across the country will be able to call up programs all designed to help
    minority home buyers understand what's available, what's possible, and
    what to avoid. The National Realtors Association will create a central
    databank of affordable housing programs, which will

    [[Page 1001]]

    be made available to agents, real estate agents, to help people.
        So these are some of the beginnings of a national effort. And I want
    to thank all those who are responsible for the organizations I just
    named for lending your talents to this important effort for America.
        You know, one of the things Presidents can do is, they can call the
    old conference. So I'm going to call one--[laughter]--just to make sure
    people understand not only are we serious but to let them check in. If
    they've signed up and said they're going to help, this will give
    everybody a chance to say, ``Here's what I've done to help.'' It's what
    we call accountability.
        And so this fall, we're going to have a White House conference. It
    is a White House conference specifically designed to address the
    homeownership gap. It is a White House conference that will not only
    say, ``What have you done to date''; ``Have you got any new ideas that
    we can share with others,'' as well. I'm serious about this. This is a
    very important initiative for all of America. See, it is a chance for us
    to empower people. We're not going to talk about empowering Government;
    we're talking about empowering people, so they have got choices over
    their lives.
        I want to go back to where I started. I believe out of the evil done
    to America will come incredible good. I believe that, as sure as I'm
    standing here. I believe we can achieve peace. I believe that we can
    address hopelessness and despair where hopelessness and despair exist.
    And listen, I understand that in this great country, there are too many
    people who say, ``This American Dream, what does that mean? My eyes are
    shut to the American Dream. I don't see the dream.'' And we'd better
    make sure, for the good of the country, that the dream is vibrant and
    alive.
        It starts with having great education systems for every single
    child. It means that we unleash the faith-based programs to help change
    people's hearts, which will help change their lives. It means we use the
    mighty muscle of the Federal Government in combination with State and
    local governments to encourage owning your own home. That's what that
    means. And it means--it means that each of us--each of us--have a
    responsibility in the great country to put something greater than
    ourselves--to promote something greater than ourselves.
        And to me, that something greater than yourself is to love a
    neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. In order to change
    America and to make sure the great American Dream shines in every
    community--every community--we must unleash the compassion and kindness
    of the greatest nation on the face of the Earth.
        I'm honored to be here today. I want to thank you for your interest.
    God bless you all, and God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:10 a.m. in the Mary Jordan Family Life
    Center at the church. In his remarks, he referred to Franklin D. Raines,
    Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fannie Mae; Leland C. Brendsel,
    Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Freddie Mac; Darryl Hicks, member,
    board of directors, Atlanta Habitat for Humanity; Masharn Wilson,
    president and chief executive officer, Infinity Development Group, LLC;
    and Rev. Thomas Bess, pastor, St. Paul AME Church.

    [[Page 1002]]