[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 25 (Monday, June 27, 1994)]
[Pages 1316-1317]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6702--National Housing Week, 1994

June 21, 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 Unit- 

[[Page 1317]]

ed States of America the two hundred and eighteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:51 p.m., June 21, 
1994]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on June 
23.