Evening star., 1954-07-29
|Capehart Sees Boom
In Housing as Result
|0f Bill 5 Passage
BY the Assoeiassd Press

i 81 4 n
BY the Assoeiatsd Press
Newly passed housing legisla-
ton. a major item of President
Eisenhower's legislative program,
should boost home building by
10 to 20 per cent. Senator Cape
hart. Republican. Of Indiana
said today.
Senator Capehart. Senate
Banking Committee chairman.
steered the compromise measure
to Senate passage last night by
a 1921 roll call vote. sending
the bill to the White House.
The Indiana Senator said In
CT interview today the bill "con-
tains a great deal Of what the
President asked" He COM
mended the House for having
agreed to 35.000-unit public.
housing program. described by
Senate public housing advocates
as "a sham and a delusion."
That compromise provision.
authorizing far less than Gen.
Eisenhower recommended, was
the main reason for the 81 mo"
votes cast in the Senate on the
overall bill.
Restriction ON Tenants.
The compromise wording al
flowing $4,000 public housing
units in the next year would re-
strict this type of building to
| families actually displaced by
Federal slum clearance activi-
ties. Gen. Eisenhower had asked
for 100000 units over the next
!, four years, without this restric-
tion, and the Senate originally
went along on that. But the
House refused to authorize any
new public housing when 1t
| passed its original BILL
In other major respects. Sen
ator Capehart said. the new bill
liberalizing down payments and
extending repayment periods on
homes bought with Government
insured mortgages followed close
1iy the housing proposals the
President sentsCongress early this
year.
i Gen. Eisenhower had singled
out the housing legislation at a
news conference yesterday as one
of several items, comprising the
bulk of his legislative program,
on which he hoped for speedy
congressional action.
Senator Capehart said the new
housing bill is certain to pump
even more activity into a build
ing industry already operating
at a far higher rate than antici-
pated q year ago."
Profit Curbs Included.
Liberalized Government in
sured mortgage terms. he said
should lift that activity from II
to 20 per cent. keeping home
construction we'll above the ira.
ditional target of a million new
housing starts annually.
Under the bill. a house with
an FHA-appraised value of $i2,.
600, for instance. could have it,
down payment lowered from ths
present $4,000 to $1,000 If new
and $3.50 If old. Loans coule
run as long as 80 years insteae
of the present limit of 20 to 81
years.
The measure includes severa
new provisions designed to elm
mate extra-large profits By
builders of Governmental backed
apartment projects. Some Sen.
ators. led by Senator Byrd, Dem.
ocrat. of Virginia were con-
temptuous of these anti-"wind.
fall" devices and forecast theil
effect would scarcely be notice.
able. "Windfalls" were de.
scribed as profits made b,
builders who built projects fol
less than the amount of Gov
ernment-insured loan and pock.
eted the difference.
The measure also contains &
new provision requiring Lenders
in the Government-backed l1om.
repair loan program to take par
of the risk on each loan made
This is designed to encourage
more policing Of home repai.
loans by commercial lenders il
a move to help stamp out thos'
home repair dealers who. Gov
ernment officials say, have bilket
home owners of millions of dol
lars in shoddy repair work.
"Open-End Mortgages"
Another section will for tn
first time permit the buyer o
a Government-insured home II
take out an increased mortgag'
for the same terms as the orig
inal If he decides to add q Wini
or a bathroom to his house
Known as an "open-end mort
gage" this is expected to encour'
age home modernization.
Still another new feature is
provision to recharter the Fed
eral National Mortgage ASsocia'
tion so that private capital viii