WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush on Tuesday said he wanted to boost home ownership among minorities by 5.5 million over the next decade as he unveiled an ambitious initiative that would spur some $256 billion in spending in the U.S. housing sector.
"The idea of encouraging new home ownership and the money that will be circulated as a result of people purchasing homes will mean people are more likely to find a job in America.
"This project not only is good for the soul of the country, it's good for the pocketbook of the country as well," Bush said.
The president traveled to George Washington University where he hosted the White House Conference on Minority Home Ownership, which highlighted the administration's efforts to close the gap in home ownership between U.S. whites and minority groups.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman accompanied Bush.
Bush touted his initiative, "Blueprint for the American Dream," which would tackle obstacles to home ownership. The plan would provide down payment and closing cost assistance, bolster the supply of affordable housing and provide financial education for first-time buyers, particularly immigrant families.
The housing summit gave Bush the opportunity to reach out to Hispanics and blacks as the midterm congressional elections loom next month.
Bush captured less than 8 percent of the black vote during the 2000 presidential election. During the past two years, he has aggressively courted Hispanics with attractive immigration initiatives, which -- since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- he has not been able to deliver.
The daylong summit allowed Bush to turn his attention from his controversial stance on Iraq back to domestic policy, which has taken a back burner to his foreign agenda in recent months.
Democrats had been prodding Bush to pay more attention to the economy and other social policy issues. Just two weeks, Bush hosted a summit on children.
While the overall home ownership rate has reached an all-time high of 68 percent, the rate for blacks remains at 48 percent, Hispanics at 47.6 percent and for Asians and other races, 53.7 percent.
Bush told an audience of housing advocates, and state and local government officials, that he wanted minorities to realize the American dream of owning their own home.
The administration's push for increased home ownership comes as the percentage of homeowners paying their mortgages late increased in the second quarter of 2002.
The Mortgage Bankers Association of American reported that the percentage of loans in the process of foreclosure at the end of the quarter rose from 1.03 percent to 1.23 percent, and the percentage of loans in which foreclosure started during the quarter increased from 0.37 percent to 0.40 percent.
Bush proposed $200 million annually for the American Dream Down Payment Fund to help some 40,000 families a year with down payment and closing costs. He also proposed allowing local housing authorities to use their federal rent subsidies, also known as Section 8 vouchers, to provide mortgage assistance in lieu of rental assistance, or convert one year of rental assistance into one-time help with the down payment.
"I think if you were to talk to a lot of families that are desirous to have a home, they would tell you that the down payment is the hurdle that they can't cross. And one way to address that is to have the federal government participate," Bush said.
He also proposed a tax credit that would provide $2.4 billion over five years to encourage the production of 200,000 affordable homes for sale to low- and moderate-income families.
"One of the things that I'm doing is proposing a single-family affordable housing credit to encourage the construction of single-family homes in neighborhoods where affordable housing is scarce," he said.
"It's really important for us to understand that we can provide incentive for people to build homes where there's a lack of affordable housing.
With the ailing economy, the administration is looking towards increased home ownership to spur job growth. It estimates that building 1,000 single-family homes would create 2,448 full-time jobs in construction, transportation, trade and other services. That job growth would represent more than $150 billion in new wages, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Bush said he also wanted to simplify home buying by making it easier for buyers to understand the process. He proposed distributing $35 million to 100 national, state and local groups to promote buyer education.
With a "Homebuyers' Bill of Rights," Bush proposed making the settlement process easier for consumers.
He proposed expanding financial education efforts so families can avoid being victimized by predatory lenders, which the Federal Trade Commission and HUD are targeting.
