•HRES 147 IH
Whereas an integral element of a strong community is a suf-
ficient supply of affordable housing;
Whereas such housing can be provided in traditional and
nontraditional forms, including apartment buildings,
transitional and temporary homes, condominiums, co-
operatives, and single family homes;
Whereas for many families a home is not merely shelter, but
also provides an opportunity for growth, prosperity, and
security;
Whereas homeownership is a cornerstone of the national
economy because it spurs the production and sale of
goods and services, generates new jobs, encourages sav-
ings and investment, promotes economic and civic respon-
sibility, and enhances the financial security of all people
in the United States;
Whereas the United States is the first country in the world
to make owning a home a reality for a vast majority of
its families; however, more than one-third of the families
in the United States are not homeowners;
Whereas a disproportionate percentage of non-homeowning
families in the United States are low-income families;
Whereas the National Partners in Homeownership, a public-
private partnership comprised of 63 national organiza-
tions under the leadership of the Department of Housing
and Urban Development, has established a goal of reach-
ing an all-time high homeownership level in the United
States by the end of the 20th century;
Whereas there are many other nonprofit and for-profit orga-
nizations that, in partnership with the Federal Govern-
ment and local governments, strive to make the American
•HRES 147 IH
dream of homeownership a reality for low-income fami-
lies;
Whereas national organizations such as the Fannie Mae
Foundation, Freddie Mac, the Local Initiatives Support
Corporation, the Enterprise Foundation, the Housing As-
sistance Council, and the Neighborhood Reinvestment
Corporation, in conjunction with local organizations, have
developed thousands of homes each year for low-income
families and have, in the process, reduced urban decay
and blight and fostered business activity;
Whereas the community building activities of neighborhood-
based nonprofit organizations empower individuals to im-
prove their lives and make communities safer and
healthier for families;
Whereas one of the best known nonprofit housing organiza-
tions is Habitat for Humanity, which builds simple but
adequate housing for less fortunate families and symbol-
izes the self-help approach to homeownership;
Whereas Habitat for Humanity provides opportunities for
people from every segment of society to volunteer to help
make the American dream a reality for families who oth-
erwise would not own a home; and
Whereas the second week of June 1997 is National Home-
ownership Week: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that—
(1) everyone in the United States should have
a decent home in which to live;
•HRES 147 IH
(2) the Members of the House of Representa-
tives should demonstrate the importance of vol-
unteerism;
(3) the Members of the House of Representa-
tives and Habitat for Humanity, with support from
the National Partners in Homeownership, should
sponsor and construct, commencing on June 5,
1997, two homes in the Anacostia neighborhood of
the District of Columbia, each to be known as a
‘‘House That Congress Built’’;
(4) each ‘‘House That Congress Built’’ should
be constructed primarily by Members of the House
of Representatives and their families and staffs, in-
volving and symbolizing the partnership of the pub-
lic, private, and nonprofit sectors of society;
(5) each ‘‘House That Congress Built’’ should
be constructed with the participation of the family
that will own the home;
(6) upon completion and initial occupancy of
the homes in the fall of 1997, the Members of the
House of Representatives, their families and staffs,
and local and national leaders from the public and
private nonprofit sectors of society should partici-
pate, together with each family that will own a
•HRES 147 IH
‘‘House That Congress Built’’, in an event to cele-
brate the occasion;
(7) in the future, the Members of the House of
Representatives and their families and staff should
participate in similar house building activities of
Habitat for Humanity in their own districts as part
of National Homeownership Week; and
(8) these occasions should be used to emphasize
and focus on the importance of providing decent
homes for all of the people in the United States.
Æ