HELPING HANDS FOR HOMEOWNERSHIP ACT OF 2004 -- (House of Representatives - June 21, 2004)
Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4363) to facilitate self-help housing homeownership opportunities, as amended.
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Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, today the House takes up important housing legislation to help communities across America achieve homeownership. The bill we are taking up today was recently passed by a voice vote from the Committee on Financial Services.
H.R. 4363, Helping Hands For Homeownership Act of 2004, introduced by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Green) would make a technical correction for the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996 to permit families who receive homes from groups such as Habitat for Humanity to fulfill the sweat equity requirements for receiving self-help homeownership opportunity program funds or SHOP funds by helping to build other Habitat homes in the community in addition to their own.
SHOP provides competitive grants for groups such as Habitat to help with land and infrastructure expenses. This change fulfills the original intent of Congress and corrects the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development interpretation which create a hurdle to home ownership, the exact opposite of HUD's mission.
In 1996, Congress created the SHOP program to provide grants to non-profit groups like Habitat for Humanity to help with land and infrastructure expenses. However, because of a new interpretation of SHOP by HUD, Habitat's involvement in the program was placed in jeopardy. Under the new interpretation, families are required to contribute sweat equity labor hours towards the construction of their own home. The legislation of the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Green) changes this to allow families to accumulate their sweat equity hours by working on both their own homes and other Habitat homes.
These grants are essential in helping groups like Habitat carry out their mission of building stronger communities. By correcting this problem Congress, will remove a major barrier to home ownership for low income families and give them a chance to help other families in their communities.
Habitat for Humanity's headquarters located Georgia provides information, training and a variety of other support services to Habitat affiliates throughout the world. Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit, ecumenical, Christian housing ministry. They seek to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from around the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Habitat invites people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need.
Habitat has built more than 150,000 houses around the world providing more than 750,000 people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, decent, and affordable shelter. They were founded in 1976 by Millard Fuller, along with his wife Linda.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that this bill be passed.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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