Date: 2002-06-17
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker. H. Con. Res. 415 recognizes National Homeownership Month. First. I would like to thank the gentleman from Ohio . chairman of the Committee on Financial Services. for his interest in this issue. The chairman looks for ways to get involved in housing issues. His willingness to look at new ideas and focus on longterm solutions is really encouraging to the rest of the members of this committee. The gentleman from Massachusetts . the ranking member on the Democratic side. has been very encouraging and also forthright in looking to issues and ways to resolve the housing crisis in this country. Homeownership is the American dream. I introduced this resolution because I feel so strongly about homeownership. This country is home to people of many different origins. but everyone seems to have the same dream. to own their own home. This dream means many things to many people. independence. financial security. geographic stability. the ability to accumulate personal wealth. a place to raise a family. a prized possession to decorate and improve. or simply a place to go after a long day of work and find peace. As a homebuilder for over 30 years. I enjoyed watching many people achieve this dream. You could always see the excitement and anticipation in the face of a new homebuyer. I believe very strongly in the dream of homeownership. and I was pleased to see President Bush recognize it by proclaiming June 2002 National Homeownership Month. I look forward to working with him and HUD Secretary Mel Martinez to further the goal of this proclamation. The role of the Federal Government in homeownership: when I first started my business. I had an old van that used more oil than gas and every tool I had was in a cardboard box in the back of it. It was a small company and I grew that company over the years. But with each passing year. I saw the impact of government on the housing industry and with each year came more government laws and regulations making it harder to build a home. The red tape kept increasing costs. which in business you have to pass on to the consumer. Homes kept getting more expensive. During National Homeownership Month. I think it is very important that we talk about how the government is impacting home prices. Last month. a 27 percent tariff was placed on Canadian softwood lumber. which will be used to frame homes. This will increase the cost of a new home by at least $1.500. Although we have a very similar species of wood that is native to the Pacific Northwest. Federal logging restrictions have reduced the supply below demand. so builders need to import it. The Endangered Species Act is often interpreted to give rats. frogs and plants more rights than people. In some parts of the country. in my district. specifically. in southern California. the heavy burden of Federal. State and local mandates is creating a generation of people who cannot afford to live in the community where they work and grew up. I call these people the new homeless. Exactly who are the new homeless? In my district it might be a couple whose husband might be a firefighter and the wife is a teacher. They have a good job and they make a good living. but their combined income does not qualify them to buy a medianpriced home in Southern California. This is a national problem also occurring in New Jersey. New York. Massachusetts. Colorado and Oregon. among other places. The new homeless either end up renting. postponing the American dream of homeownership. or they commute. sometimes hours. until they find a community they can afford to live in. Although they may be homeowners. the only time they really spend in their home is the 8 hours they spend in bed. Most of the other 16 hours of the day are spent working and commuting to and from work. I would encourage my colleagues to talk to their D.C. staff to see if you have any of the new homeless individuals in your offices. One of my legislative assistants has been looking for a condo since January. In that time. she has been outbid by $40.000 on an 854 squarefoot condo that is $40.000 above the asking price and lost out on another opportunity to bid because she got to the property on a Sunday morning the day after it had gone on the market. and it was already under contract. She is almost priced out of the marketplace in the area and about ready to move to a cheaper part of the country. My legislative director and his wife bought a home in Sperryville. Virginia. which is about 2 hours from here. In both cases. the dream of homeownership is becoming a question of affordability and quality of life. Although nationally homeownership is at an alltime high of 67.8 percent. there are pockets in this country where that statistic is significantly lower. and H. Con. Res. 415 states that improving opportunities for homeownership requires the commitment and the cooperation of all levels of government. Federal. State and local. I hope that National Homeownership Month will encourage that. The Federal Commitment to Improving Homeownership: I feel strongly about this issue because homeownership is the key to personal wealth in our country. When someone buys a home. they purchase an asset which will grow over time. and as equity accumulates. so dbes personal wealth. The role of the i Federal Government should be to help individuals and families move into homeownership so they would have the ability to achieve personal wealth. I am so pleased that President Bush has announced his aggressive agenda to expand homeownership opportunities to at least 5.5 million families before the end of the decade. The Federal Government has a long history of supporting housing programs. FHA allows people to become homeowners with as little as 3 percent for a down payment. The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco is working on a program that will help some of the new homeless achieve the dream of homeownership. They have teamed up with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and other organizations to offer loans to about 300 middleincome families. What is unique is how they define middle income. because in San Francisco that includes families making about $100.000 a year. While there are also great programs helping specific groups of people. I agree with President Bush. we can and must do more to expand homeownership opportunity to all people in this country. Longterm solutions: when most people talk about housing. they tend to focus on the lowincome end of the spectrum. While I agree that assisting this group is important. I firmly believe that until we address the new homeless and begin creating a moveup market for the lowincome individuals. we will not resolve our affordability entry level housing crisis. LI 1445 The Federal Government supports a lot of great programs such as section 8 rental vouchers. which target low- and moderateincome families. But now these programs are starting to experience inefficiencies because there is no moveup market for the people in the section 8 housing to move out to. Programs like section 8 rental vouchers are crucial to moving families off welfare and can meet the needs of families who experience an emergency such as a job loss or death of a spouse. However. they should not be considered longterm solutions. Because we do not have a moveup market for a section 8 voucher family. they get stuck relying on government. If they make too much money and no longer qualify for the voucher. they cannot afford to move into their current community. and because they continue to tie up the voucher. other families who need assistance are stuck on waiting lists. In some areas such as Los Angeles. families are waiting years to get a voucher. This problem is compounded by the lack of housing supply because landlords can charge much higher rents. usually to the new homeless families who can pay the rent. but then cannot save for the down payment. There is no real incentive to be part of the section 8 voucher program. Fiftynine percent of Los Angeles section 8 voucher recipients cannot find a place where they can use the voucher use the voucher. To truly address the housing problem in our country. we need a real solution. not a Bandaid. We need policies which encourage the private sector to provide the housing that is needed. and this is something that the Federal. State. and local governments must really take on. and take on in a serious manner. I am pleased with President Bush that he has recognized this problem and has a plan to expand home ownership opportunities by working with the private sector to overcome the obstacles facing the new homeless as well as low- and moderateincome families. I am anxious to learn more about his proposal and do everything I can to produce a bill that will implement it. In conclusion. National Home Ownership Month is exciting. It has created a forum for us to start addressing issues that impact homeownership. I encourage my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 415 and take time this month to talk to the public housing authorities. Realtors. lenders. and especially perspective homebuyers in their districts to learn about the issues affecting homeownership. Madam Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.