[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 24 (Monday, June 18, 2001)]
[Pages 875-876]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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The President's Radio Address

June 9, 2001

    Good morning. This week I marked National Homeownership Week by 
volunteering with a local Habitat for Humanity work crew in Tampa, 
Florida. I was privileged to work with local volunteers to help build a 
home for Johana Rodriguez and her family.
    Like all Habitat families, Ms. Rodriguez contributed her own hard 
work to her home's construction. And she takes great pride in the fact 
that she'll soon fulfill the American Dream of being a homeowner.
    More Americans than ever before are experiencing that dream. But it 
still eludes too many people. For instance, while the rate of 
homeownership amongst all Americans is nearly 68 percent, the rate among 
African-American and Hispanic families is under 50 percent. These 
numbers are troubling because homeownership lies at the heart of the 
American Dream. It is a key to upward mobility for low and middle income 
Americans. It is an anchor for families and a source of stability for 
communities. It serves as the foundation of many people's financial 
security. And it is a source of pride for people who have worked hard to 
provide for their families. We need to do more to promote homeownership 
in America. And my administration is proposing a number of ways to do 
just that.
    Our 2002 budget dedicates more than $30 billion to the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development. This is an increase of almost $2 billion 
over current funding levels. We are working in a variety of ways to 
build and sustain neighborhoods in inner cities and rural communities 
across America.
    One particular program, the American Dream Downpayment Fund, will 
provide $200 million in downpayment assistance to help 130,000 low 
income families buy homes. In addition, my administration announced 
earlier this week a program to allow people who receive low income 
rental assistance to bundle a year's worth of payments and use the money 
for a downpayment or to make monthly payments on a new mortgage.
    We're also proposing a $1.7 billion tax credit to support the 
rehabilitation or new construction of up to 100,000 homes over a 5 year 
period. And this week I was proud to sign a bipartisan tax relief bill 
that will let Americans keep more of their hard earned money, money they 
can use to help purchase a new home or pay the mortgage of an existing 
home.
    Government can play a helpful role but so must many others. My 
administration is dedicated to helping the private sector organizations, 
like Habitat for Humanity, that build homes and lift lives. HUD's Self-
Help Ownership Opportunity Program provides seed money to groups like 
Habitat to purchase land for homes and build streets and utilities in 
local neighborhoods. Next year's budget will propose tripling the 
program's funds to expand its reach.
    If you have an opportunity to help Habitat for Humanity or other 
organizations working to make the American Dream a reality for more 
families, I hope you do so. Government funding can help. But Habitat 
relies on volunteers to accomplish the bulk of its mission. And I can 
tell you from personal experience, there's no better way to feel like 
you're making a difference than to put hammer to nail and help people 
realize their dreams.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 2:10 p.m. on June 7 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 9. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
June 8 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this 
address.

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