This is the 25th anniversary of the Community Development Block Grant program. It is the most flexible program in the HUD portfolio. Both Democrats and Republicans, by the way, came together to create this solid program. I'm excited about CDBG, but I'm equally concerned that we make sure that the appropriations for it not only stay at the levels they are, but increase because there are more Americans who are in need. The Dow Jones average and homeownership rates are up higher than they've been in a long time.
Unemployment is down.
The President and Vice President deserve credit. But we still have a lot of Americans who are not benefiting, and the time to get them in the flow of the economy is now, under the best conditions. We can build more affordable housing, create more rental housing units, make sure that the homeless population is not going up but going down, and create jobs and bring business to the inner city and rural areas which have been forgotten about. HUD, through the federal budget, announced economic development initiative grants recently. These grants are used by communities to bring in business and create jobs.