    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
    [July 1, 2008]
    [Pages 967-968]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 967]]

    Remarks Following a Roundtable Discussion on Housing Counseling in North
    Little Rock, Arkansas
    July 1, 2008

        Thank you all for having us. We're here at the Family Service Agency
    here in Little Rock to discuss ways to help people either buy a home for
    the first time or stay in a home.
        Before--I want to--before I say a few words about how the Government
    can help people stay in their home, I do want to thank Charles and your team of counselors who are here. Thank
    you for your briefing. I thought it was very thorough and
    understandable.
        I do want to thank the Secretary of HUD for joining us, as well as Congressman Boozman. I really appreciate your time.
        And I want to thank Caroline [Carolyn],*
    first-time homebuyer--or, she went to the first-time homebuyers program
    in Jacksonville, Arkansas--and Patty from
    Conway, Arkansas.
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        *White House correction.
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        One of the problems we have when it comes to buying a home is that
    there's a lot of fine print, and people get worried about it. And so
    these counselors have helped simplify the process. And one of the great
    challenges now is how to help creditworthy people stay in their homes,
    because we got some people who are--just with some little help, some
    advice, and some counseling will be able to figure out a way to stay in
    the home. It's in our national interest we do so. That's what
    Patty bought--she was--had a home and was very
    worried about being able to stay in it; got some good advice through
    Sue and--now in the home.
        And this has happened all across America, by the way. There's some
    good programs coming out of Washington, all aimed at saying to the
    American citizen, if you are worried about staying in your home, contact
    a counseling service, we'll help you--``we'' being the collective group
    of people that are in this business. After all, this is a HUD-funded
    counseling program; you receive some money from HUD for your counseling.
        Congress can help, when they come back, to pass a good piece of
    housing legislation that modernizes the FHA and reforms the--these GSEs.
    And we--well, I think we can get us a bill, but it's going to require
    less politics and more focus on keeping our minds on who we need to
    help, and that's the homeowner.
        And so I do want to thank you very much for having us. This is an
    issue on people's minds. It's an issue where there is good help to be
    had. And so if people are looking for help here in Arkansas, it's a good
    place to turn to--family services. And there are other places around the
    country where people can get help, where there's experts that will help
    them refinance their mortgages or work with their mortgage companies to
    help you stay in their homes. It's in our interest that more people stay
    in their homes during this period of uncertainty.
        I'm confident, in the long run, America's going to be just fine.
    We're a country that has overcome challenges before. And we've got some
    challenges--high gasoline prices; we've got some challenges in the
    housing industry. We know the way forward in housing: good legislation
    and helping people stay in their homes. And the truth of the matter is,
    we know the way forward

    [[Page 968]]

    when it comes to energy. We're depending too much on energy from
    overseas. We ought to be finding more energy here at home. If people
    want their gasoline prices down, let's find energy here in America. And
    there's plenty of energy to be had.
        At any rate, thank you all for your time. I enjoyed it.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:48 p.m. at the Family Service Agency. In
    his remarks, he referred to Charles Deville, Jr., executive director,
    Family Service Agency; Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Steven
    C. Preston; Carolyn Pierson, homeowner, Jacksonville, AR; Patty Couch,
    homeowner, Conway, AR; and Sue Pearson, budget, credit, and housing
    counselor, Consumer Credit Counseling Service, Family Service Agency.