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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
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This is not a textual record. This is used as an
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Affordable Housing Bill, 11/28/90
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19
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2
Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
(George Bush Library)
Document No.
Subject/Title of Document
Date
Restriction
Class.
and Type
01. Memo
Jack Kemp to Domestic Policy Council, Re: An Action Plan
11/26/90
P-5
for Empowering People. (10 pp.)
Collection:
Record Group:
Bush Presidential Records
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Grant, Mary Kate
Open on Expiration of PRA
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File Location:
Affordable Housing Bill 11/28/90
Date Closed:
12/14/2004
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04424
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S
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PRM Removed as a personal record misfile.
DRAFT
JAS 11/24 Draft Revised
November 26, 1990
MK Only a HOPE draft! we
MEMORANDUM FOR THE DOMESTIC POLICY COUNCIL
FROM:
JACK KEMP
The
Chairman
Economic Empowerment Task Force
SUBJECT:
An Action PLan for Empowering People
item Healy mention may one should
BACKGROUND:
Rup
On August 6, 1990, the President approved a DPC decision
memorandum on the Administration's low income opportunity
strategy creating the Economic Empowerment Task Force.
The Task Force was directed to: 1) advance the
Administration's comprehensive economic empowerment strategy;
2) identify new initiatives consistent with the principles of the
Administration's economic empowerment and budget policies;
3) coordinate the review of current programs by each Department,
including a study of the distributional effects of existing
programs; and 4) develop and implement proposals to integrate
services and move toward a "client-centered" approach.
This paper is a status report on the activities of the Task
Force and identifies for DPC consideration a series of
initiatives ready to be launched or already underway. The
initiatives are designed to give people the power to make choices
and the incentive to act responsibly. They can be collectively
thought of as a "downpayment" for the continuing effort to
empower people.
This effort is driven by the observation that the
centralized status quo does not work for people; the system must
be reformed and restructured. The goal is a system that produces
results by encouraging independence. Decisions about what people
need are best made by the people themselves. With the right
tools, opportunities, and incentives, people can and will succeed
without becoming dependent on government.
The term "empowerment" is shorthand -- for an idea, a
process, and a strategy. The idea is simple and is borne out by
events around the world. All people, regardless of culture or
wealth, share the same hopes and dreams, especially the hope for
liberty and the dream of success. The American idea is that all
of us -- whether born to privilege, or in barrios, ghettos, or
reservations -- should have a chance to realize those hopes and
2
dreams. Empowerment is process because it is not an end in
itself, but only a means toward an end: a life of dignity,
responsibility, and economic opportunity. As a policy strategy,
empowerment is the benchmark by which we measure the degree to
which public programs enable the poor to enjoy the fruits of
democratic capitalism instead of the stale crumbs of dehumanizing
paternalism.
WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW:
1. Evaluations of Existing Demonstration Projects: During the
Reagan Administration, the Low Income Opportunity Board (LIOB)
received requests for waivers for welfare demonstration projects
from 26 States. Of these, 14 were approved and are now underway.
Typically, these programs are operating in a few counties in each
State.
Two projects were not approved by the LIOB because they were
not technically budget neutral, but were subsequently approved
through normal Departmental processes. The other 10 States
withdrew their proposals either because the Family Support Act of
1988 allowed them to do many of the things they requested without
a waiver or because they did not wish to perform an effectiveness
evaluation as required by the LIOB.
There is a great deal of diversity in the 14 State
demonstration proposals now underway (see Attachment B for a list
of State demonstration projects). Alabama, for example, is
testing a major simplification project, in which the AFDC, Food
Stamp, and Low Income Home Energy Assistance programs are merged
into one cash grant with a unified set of rules. West Virginia
is encouraging welfare recipients to start their own small
businesses. Wisconsin requires both teenage parents receiving
AFDC as well as teenagers in families receiving AFDC benefits to
stay in school -- those not meeting minimum school attendance
requirements receive a reduced AFDC grant.
All of these demonstration projects were required to have an
evaluation component. Generally, evaluations were required after
three years, so although no evaluation results have been received
thus far, evaluations from the projects approved earliest by the
LIOB are due shortly.
2. Administration Accomplishments: The Administration has
already accomplished a great deal in its first two years. (The
DPC paper of July 20, 1990, on the low income opportunity
strategy included a list of Administration empowerment
accomplishments up to that date.) Since then, new successes
include passage of HOPE legislation and expansion of Head Start.
The recent budget agreement also included several
3
initiatives to empower people, such as the Earned Income Tax
Credit expansion ($12 billion over five years), the Child Health
Tax Credit ($5 billion over five years), and funding for child
care vouchers. All of these accomplishments are part of the
Administration's empowerment agenda -- each piece is only part of
a comprehensive whole effort to protect and enhance individual
power.
3. Distributional Analysis and Services Integration: The Task
Force was directed to conduct an analysis of the distributional
effects of existing programs in order to better target funds to
the poor. CEA has taken the lead on the distributional analysis.
The Task Force was also charged with developing and implementing
proposals to integrate Federally-funded social services. HHS has
taken the lead for the services integration effort. Results of
the studies and recommendations will be reported to the DPC in
mid-1991.
EMPOWERMENT REGULATORY AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES THAT CAN BE
IMPLEMENTED UNDER EXISTING AUTHORITY:
Each Department presented to the Task Force the actions
currently being taken by the agencies to empower people or to
make government work for people. By and large, these activities
are primarily administrative or regulatory in nature.
(Attachment A is a comprehensive listing of Regulatory and
Administrative Empowerment Ideas.) These efforts are either
already ongoing or easily implemented within current law and
resources.
The Task Force learned that all the Departments are actively
and creatively looking for ways to government work better for
people. For instance, the Department of Agriculture will improve
coordination between the Food Stamp Employment and Training
program, the new Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS)
program, and Labor's JTPA program through demonstrations
authorized by the 1990 Farm Bill. The Department of Education is
ready to open its educational choice clearinghouse. The
Department of Justice leads "Operation Cleansweep," an inter-
agency effort to rid public housing of gangs and drug
trafficking. HUD will promote systemic incentives for savings,
such as homeownership escrow accounts, and removal of perverse
disincentives that thwart family unification and entry into the
workforce.
OPTIONS READY FOR POSSIBLE INCLUSION IN THE FY92 BUDGET AND FOR
USE IN THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS:
Empowerment options are presented here for Domestic Policy
Council consideration. These options are not intended to be an
4
exhaustive list of all empowerment initiatives that the
Administration will pursue, or even a list of all options that
the Task Force will formulate and propose to the DPC.
Rather, the following is a list of the most promising ideas
identified by the Task Force that -- with limited additional work
-- are basically ready for inclusion in the FY92 Budget and could
be announced, if desired, in the State of the Union Address as
part of an Administration empowerment agenda. (Note: Some ideas
may have already been included in the agencies' FY92 budget
requests to OMB.) Wherever possible, variations on specific
options are proposed that take a more experimental approach
relying on demonstrations and evaluation.
The options have been arrayed within five broad empowerment
categories: Housing; Education and Training; The Economy and
Jobs; Family; and Empowerment of Welfare Recipients. It is
expected that empowerment will also be a dominant theme in
policies (e.g., health care, civil rights) being developed in
other forums and not specifically addressed in this paper.
Guidance from the Domestic Policy Council is required on
whether to advance, defer, or disapprove the action items
proposed under each of the following options.
HOUSING:
1.
Fund HOPE: The President's HOPE initiative (Homeownership
and Opportunity for People Everywhere) was passed into law.
Empowering through homeownership of public and assisted
housing, resident management, urban homesteading, and
linkages between housing and services for the homeless are
among the major new initiatives authorized by the
legislation.
Action: Fund HOPE in FY92. Although legislation was
passed, no money was appropriated in FY91. Funding the HOPE
initiative is vital to achieving the Administration's public
goal of a million new low-income homeowners by 1992.
(Included in HUD's FY92 budget submission to OMB.)
EDUCATION AND TRAINING:
1.
Promote Educational Choice: During the last two years,
educational choice initiatives have been undertaken in more
and more jurisdictions across the country. East Harlem, New
York; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and
the State of Minnesota have implemented choice programs that
permit parents to determine which schools their children
should attend.
5
Action: Propose legislation to permit Federal funds from
several programs administered by the Department of Education
(Chapter 1, vocational education, and vocational-
rehabilitation) to be used in connection with local choice
plans. Such legislation, rather than "voucherizing" all of
a given program such as Chapter 1, would permit Federal
funds flowing to a jurisdiction to become part of the pool
of resources that would be governed by an existing choice
program. This would constitute an incremental approach, as
distinguished from an effort to turn all Chapter 1 into a
voucher program (an approach that failed four years ago).
2.
Reintroduce Education Flexibility Legislation: A proposal
supported by the Administration for waivers and flexibility
in education-related programs failed to pass Congress this
year, receiving opposition from some conservative
Republicans as well as opposition from Democrats.
Flexibility would permit the resources associated with some
of the Department of Education's 208 programs to be spent at
State and local levels with fewer regulatory constraints.
Action: Reintroduce the flexibility/waiver proposal as it
applies to education programs, but also extend it to other
Departments whose program-effectiveness could benefit from
this approach. Any flexibility initiative authorized under
this approach would also be coupled with a strong
accountability and evaluation requirement to enhance the
likelihood of success.
THE ECONOMY AND JOBS:
1.
Create Enterprise Zones: Authorization for enterprise zones
was removed in the final stages of the budget agreement.
Action: Create enterprise zone tax incentives in distressed
communities to increase jobs and spur investment. This
could include providing tax incentives, such as eliminating
the capital gains tax within enterprise zones. (Capital
gains, of course, could also be considered separately in some
variation: simple cut; indexing; length-of-holding-asset
limitations; etc.).
2. Repeal Davis-Bacon: Davis-Bacon was enacted in the depths
of the Depression to require workers on Federally-financed
projects to be paid the prevailing wage. The current
threshold assures that virtually no project is beyond the
requirement's reach.
Action: Make repeal of Davis-Bacon a legislative priority
for 1991. Repeal could result in substantial budget
6
savings. Alternatively, Davis-Bacon thresholds could be
raised, still resulting in some budget savings. Repeal
would increase opportunities for thousands of individuals to
obtain construction-related jobs.
3.
Target SBA Loans: The Small Business Administration (SBA)
operates several loan and technical assistance programs.
these programs are not very well targeted to low-income
persons.
Action: SBA will promote smaller loans by banks and others
entities to provide access to capital to low-income persons.
SBA proposes to designate non-bank community organizations
to refer borrowers who qualify for micro-loans of less than
$15,000. SBA will also designate Enterprise Centers to
provide technical assistance to low-income persons at
existing Small Business Development Centers, and target
technical assistance to low-income/high-unemployment areas.
4.
Revamp the Public Employment Service: The Employment
Service, a State-run, Federally-funded program, is an
important tool in minimizing the financial hardship and
length of unemployment for workers.
Action: Redirect the efforts of the Employment Service
towards targeting low-income persons, providing these
clients with needed training, and tying Federal funding to
both job placement rates and number of low-income persons
served.
FAMILY:
1.
Restore the Value of the Personal Exemption: In 1948, the
personal exemption allowed each individual subject to tax to
deduct $600 from his or her income before computing tax
liability. Today that amount is $2,050, an amount that will
increase according to inflation. The amount, however, would
be $6,000 had it been indexed since 1948.
Action: Endorse the objective of restoring the value of the
personal exemption. Restoring the real value of the
deduction to its 1948 level ($6,000 today) would cost at
least $50 billion per year. Alternatively, this can be
stated as a goal to be reached eventually, with any number
of steps along the way. The Administration could propose to
raise the deduction for children under age 4 in families of
income under $24,000. Or increase the exemption by $1,000
for each additional child in a family. At the very least,
Treasury should be directed to prepare a study on the
alternatives.
7
EMPOWERMENT OF WELFARE RECIPIENTS:
1.
Test Approaches to Make Welfare Transitional: At any given
time, about half of the total population receiving AFDC will
receive welfare for eight or more years. Two noted
liberals, Harvard's David Ellwood and Mickey Kaus of The New
Republic have suggested alternatives for keeping receipt of
AFDC from being a long term experience. Under one approach
that has been suggested, a stay on AFDC would be limited to
eight years. Others have suggested that after two years of
receiving cash AFDC benefits, recipients would be required
to accept public employment in exchange for continued
receipt of benefits.
Action: Conduct a series of rigorous demonstrations to
discern the effects of time-limiting benefits, each using
random assignment and careful evaluation. The
Administration would propose models to be tested, work with
States to identify locations to test the models, and provide
funds for evaluation.
2.
Establish Social Policy Enterprise Zones: Over half of the
urban poor living in high poverty tracts live in seven large
cities.
Action: Create social enterprise zones (analogous to
enterprise zones), allowing increased waiver authority and
flexibility for Federal and State programs in poverty areas.
This could be done in either of two ways: 1) population-
based (e.g., targeted at first-time unmarried mothers just
going on welfare); or 2) geographically-based.
This approach could at least be done on an experimental and
demonstration basis with Native Americans by proposing
legislation for waiver authority for all Federal Indian
programs, to form economic and community development
partnerships with Indian tribes.
3.
Job Training in Public Housing: Many residents of public
housing and assisted housing are ideal candidates to benefit
from job training.
Action: Actively promote an aggressive services integration
initiative that is now being forged jointly by HUD, HHS, and
Labor. This will help public and assisted housing residents
gain access to job training, entrepreneurship, Operation
Bootstrap, and other initiatives contained in the new
housing bill.
8
ATTACHMENT A
REGULATORY AND ADMINISTRATIVE EMPOWERMENT IDEAS
Agriculture:
:
Improve coordination between the Food Stamp Employment
and Training program, the new Job Opportunities and
Basic Skills (JOBS) program, and the Job Training
Partnership Act (JTPA) program through demonstrations
authorized by the 1990 Farm Bill.
--
Expand nutrition and consumer education through the
Extension Service (additional resources would be
required although existing regulations permit this
activity).
-- Use the Food Stamp Employment and Training program to
create better linkages with child care, improve
targeting, and enhance training.
:
Improved coordination between AFDC and Food Stamps.
--
Expand WIC (Supplemental Feeding Program for Women,
Infants, and Children) nutrition education and health
referrals.
--
Explore creation of rural enterprise zones and options
regarding rural housing.
Education:
--
The Educational Choice clearinghouse is ready to be
opened shortly.
:
Promote consumer information about how to make choices
in elementary/secondary and postsecondary education.
--
Promote services integration among education,
employment and training, social and health programs.
--
Expand entrepreneurship opportunities at Historically
Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Health and Human Services:
--
Promote services integration.
9
-- Find ways to make AFDC more of a temporary cash
assistance program.
Housing and Urban Development:
--
Review grant selection criteria.
-- Aggressive linkage of education choice, resident
initiatives for the homeless and those in public and
assisted housing, and job training through joint
actions among the agencies.
:
Promote systemic incentives for savings, such as
homeownership escrow accounts, and removal of perverse
disincentives in the various Federal assistance
programs that thwart family unification and entry into
the workforce.
--
Improve coordinated targeting.
Justice:
--
Support educational choice by advocating remedies such
as magnet schools, rather than mandatory reassignment,
in desegregation litigation.
--
Continue efforts to combat drugs and crime so that
individuals will be free to pursue economic and
educational opportunities. Explore more community-
based programs such as National Night Out and the
National Congress of Black Churches Anti-Drug Abuse
Program, which are currently being funded by the
Department of Justice.
--
Rid public housing of gangs and drug trafficking
through "Operation Cleansweep," and inter-agency effort
to remove unauthorized persons from public housing,
make buildings secure, identify needed repairs and
establish a permanent security system.
--
Enhance victims' rights.
:
Create a nationwide mentorship program, based on the
Legal Advocates in Education program recently developed
by the Department of Justice, to link professionals
with high-risk youth.
10
Labor:
:
Implement Memorandum of Understanding with HUD to
expand linkages with public housing and assisted
housing programs with job training and to enhance the
training initiative for the homeless.
--
Design and test comprehensive training support and
housing programs.
--
Expand the Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU)
initiative with other agencies.
:
Reconsider use of the General Aptitude Test Battery as
a job referral device.
--
Improve services integration and coordination.
--
Targeting of JTPA to those most in need of assistance
along the lines of the JTPA amendments almost passed by
Congress this year.
Small Business Administration:
:
Establish Enterprise Centers in cooperation with local
public housing agencies to introduce business planning
concepts and opportunities to residents of public
housing. Also create Centers at community colleges in
low-income areas and in storefront Centers in low-
income neighborhoods.
:
Expand the number of Small Business Mobile Assistance
Centers serving rural areas and Indian reservations.
DRAFT
DRAFT
Grant
November 25, 1990
11/26
3 p.m.
12 noon
A: HUDBILL
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT
BILL SIGNING CEREMONY
THE EAST ROOM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1990
2:00 P.M.
( (Acknowledgements) )
Let me begin today with a story, a bit of a history lesson.
It was 1862: the American Civil War was over, the cruelest
barricade ever to human freedom was demolished for good. On May
20 of that year, [here, at the White House] one of my noblest
predecessors, Abraham Lincoln, sat down with pen in hand, and
signed into law the Homestead Act of 1862. That bill gave 160
acres to any poor family who wanted to make a go of it in the
wilderness, and live the American Dream themselves.
It was one of the most celebrated proposals in American
history -- caused the great land rush to the Wild West -- and it
formed the vision for a new homesteading program in urban America
today. Because Abraham Lincoln's Homestead Act empowered people.
It freed the poor from the burden of poverty and government
dependency. Likewise, today, creating the opportunity for low-
income Americans to become property owners is the key to fighting
poverty and making democracy truly work.
I've said before that the cornerstone of this
Administration's domestic agenda is this idea of empowerment --
giving people -- working people, poor people, everyone -- control
over their own lives, so that all Americans can have a life of
DRAFT
2
dignity, responsibility and economic opportunity. Our
initiatives are designed to give people the power to make choices
and the incentive to act responsibly. The status quo of
centralized bureaucracy is not working for the people -- the ones
who need affordable housing, the ones who want the power to
choose the best schools for their kids, the ones who want to pull
themselves out of dependence and into a life of self-sufficiency
in a safe, clean community -- but it is working for the
bureaucrats, and very well. And so our goal is to build a system
that puts power in the hands of people, not bureaucrats. Because
it is the people who know what is best for themselves and their
families, not the government.
That's exactly what this bill does. In the same spirit of
Abraham Lincoln's legislation, the Affordable Housing Act of 1990
empowers people. It is truly a victory for low and moderate
income Americans -- because it reforms the status quo, and makes
the government work for people, not against them.
First of all, it a major Administration initiative:
Homeownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere -- the HOPE
Initiative. HOPE will provide new opportunities for low-income
families to buy their own homes -- "urban homesteaders," if you
will -- and helps the residents of public housing to buy their
management
own units. Tenant ownership of public housing is an idea whose
time has come. Let me tell you why:
those who live there
When these new homeowners are in charge, the results are
remarkable -- more people pay their rent, maintenance improves,
DRAFT
DRAFT
3
operating costs decline, crime rates plummet, employment goes up,
more kids stay in school and neighborhoods come back to life.
And the reason? Because each resident now has an equity stake in
society -- a chance to make a go of it -- to live the American
Dream themselves.
We want public housing to become a springboard for
independence, not a bottomless pit of dependency. HUD used to
give awards for public housing residents who stayed in public
housing the longest. They stopped doing that. Now -- and even
moreso with this bill -- we're offering incentives to public
housing tenants who move out -- and move up -- into the
productive economic mainstream.
But there's more. This bill contains HOME Investment
Partnerships, to assist people who currently rent and those who
want to rehabilitate existing rural housing -- because affordable
housing is in everybody's interest. The National Homeownership
Trust would provide low-cost financing for people who are buying
a home for the first time who would not otherwise qualify for
financing because of their low income. And in addition to
housing assistance to migrant farm workers, the elderly and the
disabled, this legislation also creates the Shelter Plus Care
Program -- to assist homeless persons who are mentally ill, who
to give them the support need they
have a drug abuse problem, or who have AIDS
And finally, it
keep them
from
reforms certain programs in the Federal Housing Administration to
to a returning life
make it more financially sound.
misery on
the streets,
DRAFT If gives hope
to our goal of
ending no melessness
DRAFT
4
The Fair Housing Act gives people the best kind of
government assistance: it provides opportunity and encourages
responsibility -- without limiting liberty. That's the American
Dream -- for no matter where people live or how much money they
have, all men yearn to be free, to control their own lives.
Abraham Lincoln knew this, and his vision lives on today as the
foundation for our efforts to empower all Americans. Hope -
On my first day in office, I said to the nation: "We know
the trol own destimy
what works: Freedom works. We know what's right: Freedom is
right. We know how to secure a more just and properous life on
Earth: through free markets, free speech, free elections, and the
exercise of free will unhampered by the state."
So much has happened since that cold day in January in 1988,
when the fires of freedom first began to spread so quickly across
the globe. From Moscow to Managua, from Prague to Pretoria, and
even in the nations of South America I'll visit next week -- the
light of liberty is guiding people toward democracy, prosperity
and a better life for themselves and their children. Free
markets, free speech, free elections and free will truly are
working.
And so itis with that in mind -- the undying ideal of freedom and
opportunity for all -- that I am pleased to sign this bill into
law. Thank each and every one of you for joining us. today, and
God bless the United States of America.
# # #
DRAFT
Gcant/Blymire
November 27, 1990
5:00 p.m. A:HUDBILL
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT
SIGNING CEREMONY
THE EAST ROOM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1990
2:00 P.M.
((Thank you very much. It's great to see our HUD Secretary
Jack Kemp here today, as well as so many Members of Congress who
were able to make it today -- I see Senators Kit Bond and Al
D'Amato are here. In particular, I want to thank the Chairmen of
the Banking Committees -- Senator Don Reigle and Congressman
Henry Gonzalez. I hear that Chalmers Wilie and Jake Garn could
not join us today but as the Ranking Republicans on the Banking
Committees, I want to thank them for their remarkable efforts.
And I'd like to say hello to Mayor Sue Myrick of Charlotte, North
Carolina, the head of the Republican mayors, and I understand
quite a few other mayors are with us today, too. Welcome to the
White House. ))
Let me begin today with a story, a bit of a history lesson.
It was 1862: the middle of the American Civil War. On May 20 of
that year, one of my noblest predecessors, Abraham Lincoln, sat
down with pen in hand, and signed into law the Homestead Act of
1862. That bill gave 160 acres to any family who wanted to make
a go of it in the wilderness, and reach for the American Dream.
It was one of the most successful endeavors in American
history -- causing the great land rush to the Wild West -- and
forming the vision for a new homesteading program in urban
America today. Because Abraham Lincoln's Homestead Act empowered
2
people, it freed people from the burden of poverty, it freed them
to control their own destinies -- to create their own
opportunities -- to live the vision of the American Dream.
Likewise, today, creating the opportunity for low-income
Americans to become property owners is a key to fighting poverty
and offering real hope to thousands.
I've said before that a cornerstone of our efforts to reduce
the heavy hand of government is this idea of empowering people
-- not bureaucracies. Giving people -- working people, poor
people, everyone -- control over their own lives and access to
property and jobs, so that all Americans can have a life of
dignity, responsibility and economic opportunity. Secretary Kemp
has long been a champion of this idea -- and that's why I have
appointed him as chairman of the Domestic Policy Council's
Economic Empowerment Task Force.
The status quo of centralized bureaucracy is not working for
the people -- the ones who need affordable housing, the ones who
want to choose the best schools for their kids or child care for
their younger children -- the ones who want to pull themselves
out of dependency and into a life of self-sufficiency in a safe,
clean and drug-free community. It is the people who have the
best answers for themselves and their families, not the
government. ///
That's exactly what the National Affordable Housing Act does
in several ways -- it puts power in the hands of the people.
3
First, it authorizes a major Administration initiative:
Homeownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere
-- the HOPE Initiative. HOPE will provide new opportunities for
low-income families to buy their own homes -- "urban
homesteaders," if you will -- and helps the residents of public
housing to buy their own units. Tenant management, control, and
ultimately ownership of public housing is an idea whose time has
come. Let me tell you why:
When the people who live in public housing are in charge,
the results are remarkable -- more people pay their rent,
maintenance improves, operating costs decline, crime rates
plummet, employment goes up, more kids stay in school, and
neighborhoods come back to life. And the reason? Because each
resident now has an equity stake in society -- a chance to make a
go of it -- to live the American Dream themselves.
We want public housing to become a springboard for
independence, not a bottomless pit of dependency. HUD used to be
asked to give awards for public housing residents who stayed in
public housing the longest. We have stopped doing that. Now --
and even more so with this bill -- we're offering incentives to
public housing tenants who move out -- and move up -- into the
productive economic mainstream. These are the people who will
help us meet our goal of one million new homeowners by 1992.
But there's more. This bill contains HOME Investment
Partnerships, a new block grant to provide incentives to states,
localities and non-profit organizations to provide people who
4
currently rent with vouchers, tenant-based assistance and
rehabilitation of existing housing -- because affordable housing
is in everybody's interest. And, in addition to housing
assistance for migrant farm workers, the elderly and the
disabled, this legislation also creates the Shelter Plus Care
Program -- to assist homeless persons who are mentally ill, who
have a drug abuse problem, or other problems -- to give them the
support they need to keep them from returning to a desolate life
on the streets. Finally, it reforms certain programs in the
Federal Housing Administration to make them more financially
sound. [[And next year we will return to the Congress with the
Administration's request for Enterprise Zones, creating
opportunity in our nation's most depressed communities. ]]
The National Affordable Housing Act gives people the best
kind of government assistance: it provides opportunity and
encourages responsibility -- without the shackles of dependency.
That's the American Dream -- for no matter where people live or
how much money they have, all people yearn to control their own
lives. Abraham Lincoln knew this, and his vision lives on today
as the foundation for our efforts to empower all Americans.
And so it is with that in mind -- the undying ideal of hope
and opportunity for all -- that I am pleased to sign this bill
into law. Thank each and every one of you for joining us today,
and God bless the United States of America.
# # #
FROM
P 1
WHITE HOUSE
:11-26-90 ; 1:53PM ;
2024566218-
;# 4
90 OCT 26 P3: 12
2 tomorrow
Grant
November 25, 1990
3 p.m.
A:HUDBILL
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT
BILL SIGNING CEREMONY
THE EAST ROOM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1990
2:00 P.M.
( (Acknowledgements))
Let me begin today with a story, a bit of a history lesson.
It was 1862: the American Civil War was over. the cruelest
barricade ever to human freedom was demoilshed for good. On May
20 of that year, [here, at the White House) one of my noblest
predecessors, Abraham Lincoln, sat down with pen in hand, and
signed into law the Homestead Act of 1862. That bill gave 160
acres to any poor family who wanted to make a go of it in the
read for
wilderness, and live the American Dream, themselves
successful endeavors
It was one of the most selebrated proposals in American
ing
history -- caused the great land rush to the wild West -- and
ing
formed the vision for a new homesteading program in urban America
today. Because people Abraham Lincoln's Homestead Act empowered people,
It freed - from the burden of poverty and government
dependency. Likewise, today, creating the opportunity for low-
a
income Americans to become property owners is the key to fighting
poverty and demseracy truly work.
giving real cape to thousands
I've said before that the cornerstone of this
Administration's domestic agenda is this idea of empowerment --
giving people -- working people, poor people, everyone -- control
over their own lives, so that all Americans can have a life of
FROM
P 2
WHILE MOUSE
11-20-90 i 1:54PM i
2024566218-
:# 5
2
dignity, responsibility and economic opportunity.
initiatives are designed to give people the power to make choices
and the incentive to act responsibly The status quo of
centralized bureaucracy is not working for the people -- the ones
who need affordable housing, the ones who want the polor to
choose the best schools for their kids, the ones who want to pull
themselves out of dependence and into a life of self-sufficiency
in a safe, clean community, but it is Working for the
bureaucrate, and very well And so our goal is to build a system
that puts power in the hands of people, not bureaucrats. Because
it is the people who know what is best for themselves and their
families, not the government.
the Naturnal affordable Houseng Cut
That's exactly what this bill does In the E spirit of
inserend ways.
Abraham Lincoln's legislation, the subside Affordable Housing Act of 1990
empowere people. It is truly a victory for low and moderate
income Americans - because it reforms the status quo, and makes
the government work for people, not against them
First, through of all, 14 a major Administration initiative:
Homeownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere -- the HOPE
Initiative. HOPE will provide new opportunities for low-income
families to buy their own homes -- "urban homesteaders," if you
will -- and helps the residents of public housing to buy their
own units. Tenant ownership of public housing is an idea whose
time has come. Let me tell you why:
When these new homeowners are in charge, the results are
remarkable -- more people pay their rent, maintenance improves,
FROM
P 3
GENI-BY:14E JEN WHITE HOUSE
11-26-90 ; 1:55PM ;
2024566218-
# 6
3
operating costs decline, crime rates plummet, employment goes up,
more kids stay in school and neighborhoods come back to life.
And the reason? Because each resident now has an equity stake in
society -- a chance to make a go of it - to live the American
Dream themselves.
We want public housing to become a springboard for
independence, not a bottomless pit of dependency. HUD used to
give awards for public housing residents who stayed in public
housing the longest. They stopped doing that. Now -- and even
moreso with this bill -- we're offering incentives to public
housing tenants who move out -- and move up -- into the
productive economic mainstream.
But there's more. This bill contains HOME Investment
Partnerships, to assist people who currently rent and those who
want to rehabilitate existing rural housing -- because affordable
housing is in everybody's interest. The National Homeownership
Trust would provide low-cost financing for people who are buying
a home for the first time who would not otherwise qualify for
financing because of their low income. And in addition to
housing assistance for to migrant farm workers, the elderly and the
disabled, this legislation also creates the Shelter Plus Care
Program -- to assist homeless persons who are mentally 111, who
have a drug abuse problem, or who have AIDS. And finally, it
reforms certain programs in the Federal Housing Administration to
make it more financially sound.
FROM
P 4
SENT BY:THE WHITE HOUSE
:11-26-90 ; 1:55PM :
2024586218-
:# 7
without the
without
&
The Fair Housing Act gives people the best kind of
government assistance: it provides opportunity and encourages
responsibility without Timiting liberty, That's the American
Dream -- for no matter where people live or how much money they
have, all men yearn [to be free, to control their own lives.
Abraham Lincoln knew this, and his vision lives on today as the
foundation for our efforts to empower all Americans.
On my first day in office, H said to the nation: "We know
what works: Freedom works. We know what's right: Freedom is
right. We know how to secure a more just and properous life on
Earth: through free markets, free speech, free elections, and the
buipus
ding
exercise of free will unhampered by the state."
So much has happened since that cold day in January in 1988,
when the fires of freedom first began to spread SO quickly across
the globe. From Moscow to Managua, from Prague to Pretoria, and
even in the nations of South America I'll visit next week -- the
light of liberty is guiding people toward democracy, prosperity
and a better life for themselves and their children. Free
markets, free speech, free elections and free will truly are
working.
hope
And so with that in mind -- the undying ideal of freedom and
opportunity for all -- that I am pleased to sign this bill into
law. Thank each and every one of you for joining us today, and
God bless the United States of America.
# # #
many Kate -
congratulations on a guat spuch
fn the President the uns comfortable &
clearly in command of the concepts, that ideas
f theme. at gres writtont saying
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
the finish analogy goes a long
that has raged in the few
way towards settlens last the debate
days. - all of the term "in debetted,
P.S. now the real battle Jack begins !
DAL state fre
DEPARTMENT OF
DROP SUPMENT
WASHING TON
U.S.U. TRAAL MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE
HOUSING AND URBAN ADEMENOPMENT
PENALTY
#
29
FCH
THE SECRETARY
PRESORTED
NOV 3090
PRIVATE
USE $300
≡ 0,21
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20410
FIRST CLASS
CMETER
DC
504741
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
Ms. Mary Kate Grant
Special Assistant to the
Director of Communications
OEOB
17th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Nov. 28 / Administration of George Bush, 1990
remarks, he referred to Senators Christopher
HOPE-initiatives that my Administration
ministration's
S. Bond and Alfonse M. D'Amato, and Kimi
submitted to the Congress earlier this year.
insurance pr
O. Gray, chairperson of the National Asso-
HOPE represents a dramatic and funda-
ensure that F
ciation of Resident Management Corps. and
mental restructuring of housing policy. It
nancially soun
chairperson of the Kenilworth-Parkside
recognizes that the poor and low-income
the four princi
Resident Management Corp. S. 566, ap-
tenants-not public housing authorities and
tration's origin
proved November 28, was assigned Public
developers-are our clients. HOPE will do
achievement
Law No. 101-625.
what traditional programs have not done:
standards by t
empower low-income families to achieve
surance premi
self-sufficiency and to have a stake in their
default; minin
communities by promoting resident man-
borrowers to
agement as well as other forms of
ance fund froi
Statement on Signing the Cranston-
homeownership.
ing the empha
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing
The cornerstone of HOPE is a program to
erate-income J
Act
provide grants to enable low-income fami-
forms, we will
November 28, 1990
lies and tenants to become homeowners.
of FHA for ft
HOPE homeownership grants can be used
seeking to achi
It is with great pleasure that I today sign
S. 566, the "Cranston-Gonzalez National Af-
for planning activities, including the devel-
I am pleased
fordable Housing Act." In addition to ex-
opment of resident management corpora-
tion to the p
tions. They can also be used for rehabilita-
question that
tending and reforming existing housing pro-
tion and post-sale subsidies to help ensure
basic principle
grams, this Act creates and expands innova-
the success of homeownership. HOPE
project resider
tive new programs proposed by this Admin-
as a result of
istration. These new programs will advance
grants are eligible to be used in public
opportunities for homeownership and eco-
housing and vacant, foreclosed, and dis-
phasizing alter
that provide ()
nomic self-sufficiency in our Nation's most
tressed single-family and multifamily prop-
ship; and hon-
distressed communities. This Act is an excit-
erties.
project owner
ing bipartisan initiative to break down the
The legislation also includes my Adminis-
ment.
walls separating low-income people from
tration's Operation Bootstrap-or Family
One importa
the American dream of opportunity and
Self-Sufficiency-proposal In the past,
provide projec
homeownership.
public housing was seen as a long-term resi-
centives to III
I want to note the contributions of sever-
dence for low-income people. My Adminis-
low-income use
al people to the enactment of this landmark
tration believes that Federal housing subsi-
that the incent
legislation, starting with Secretary of Hous-
dies should serve as transitional tools to
erous than are
ing and Urban Development Jack Kemp.
help low-income families achieve self-suffi-
sive benefits or
Secretary Kemp has brought a unique
ciency, move up and into the private hous-
paid by all tax:
vision to his job and a commitment to
ing market, and join the economic main-
nize that this
empowerment as a tool to encourage indi-
stream. The Family Self-Sufficiency Pro-
compromise an
vidual dignity and initiative and reward
gram will ensure that all new housing
faith effort by
productive work effort.
voucher and certificate assistance is coordi-
Administration
Many Members of Congress also made
nated with employment counseling, job
eral funds be I
significant contributions to the bipartisan
training, child care, transportation, and
assistance.
effort to produce a housing bill. A few de-
other services to encourage upward mobili-
This legislati
serve special recognition. Senators Alan
ty.
grant, HOME
Cranston and Al D'Amatb have devoted the
S. 566 also authorizes our HOPE for El-
promote partn
last several years to the passage of a com-
derly Independence proposal to combine
Government. S
prehensive housing bill, and we would not
vouchers and certificates with supportive
ganizations, an
be here today without their efforts. Like-
services to assist the frail elderly. In addi-
partnerships WI
wise, I want to recognize the efforts of Con-
tion, it authorizes Shelter Plus Care, which
all available res
gressmen Henry Gonzalez and Chalmers
couples housing assistance and other serv-
approaches to 11
Wylie, whose spirit of cooperation through-
ices to homeless persons with disabilities
My Administ
out the legislative process helped bring us
and their families.
that the HOME
to this point.
This Act also reflects the efforts of the
hicle for the P
S. 566 contains the Homeownership and
Administration and the Congress to enact
subsidized rent.
Opportunity for People Everywhere-
needed reforms to the Federal Housing Ad-
other, more of
1930
Nov. 28 / Administration of George Bush, 1990
telephone loan risk, and in effect turn con-
Remarks on Signing the Cranston-
I've said befo
trol of the program over to the borrowers.
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing
effort to reduce
I also note that in enacting amendments
Act
ment is this ide
to the law governing the Rural Telephone
November 28, 1990
bureaucracies,
Bank Board, the Congress provided that the
people, poor
members of the Board would exercise man-
Well, thank you all very much for being
over their own
agement authority "within the limitations
here today. And of course, it's great to be
and jobs so tha
with our enthusiastic and effective Secre-
life of dignity, I
prescribed by law." Consistent with my ob-
tary of HUD [Housing and Urban Develop-
opportunity. Se
ligation to construe statutory provisions to
ment], Jack Kemp, who deserves great
a champion of
avoid raising constitutional questions, I con-
strue this savings provision to embody the
credit for what we're about to do here. And
have appointed
recognition that those Board members not
of course, I want to salute the Members of
mestic Policy
appointed in conformity with the Constitu-
Congress-they've been so helpful and in-
Empowerment
strumental in this-who are with us today. I
The status quo
tion cannot exercise the authority vested by
see Kit Bond, and Al D'Amato was to be-
is not working
the Constitution in officers of the United
they're sitting there. And I want to thank,
who need afford
States.
particularly, the chairmen of the Banking
want to choose
I further note that a number of other
Committee, Senator Riegle and Congress-
kids or child C:
provisions of the bill could be construed to
man Henry B. Gonzalez, for their work on
dren; the ones "
vest governmental authority in private par-
this. I'm told that their counterparts, Jake
out of depender
ties. These provisions appear to raise consti-
Garn and Chalmers Wylie, are not with us
sufficiency in a
tutional concerns, and I am accordingly di-
today, the ranking Republicans on the com-
community. It's
mittee; but I also want to thank them for
best answers for
recting the Secretary of Agriculture to con-
lies, not the Gov
sult the Attorney General to consider
their remarkable efforts.
And that's exa
whether curative legislation or other action
I understand that some mayors are in
fordable Housin
is needed to ensure that these authorities
town. Quite a few mayors and other local
here does in sev
are exercised as the Constitution requires.
elected officials are with us, and I want to
In spite of these drawbacks, on balance I
welcome them to the White House. I'm told
the hands of pe
major administr:
have before me a farm bill that will en-
that Kimi Gray is here, over here. And,
hance the competitiveness of our farmers
Kimi, you're kind of a symbol of hope for
ership and Opp
where, the HO
and the health of our citizens. My gratitude
the aspirations of a lot of people, and I'm
just delighted you're here with us today.
provide new opt
goes to those who have worked so tirelessly
families to buv
to produce this legislation: concerned citi-
Now, let me start with a story, a bit of
homesteaders, if
zens, Members of Congress, and my own
history-1862, the middle of the Civil War.
residents of publi
Administration. I look forward to continued
And on May 20th of that year, Abraham
units. Tenant ma
prosperity in the agricultural economy and
Lincoln sat down with pen in hand and
timately, owners]
good health and nutrition for our citizens.
signed into law the Homestead Act of 1862.
idea whose time
And that bill gave 160 acres to any family
This is not a perfect farm bill either from
tell you why.
who wanted to make a go of it in the wil-
my perspective or from that of many Mem-
When the peol
derness and reach for the American dream.
bers of Congress. But the vision of all who
ing are in charge
It is one of the most successful endeavors
worked on this legislation is the same: pros-
ble: more people
in American history, causing the great land
perity for our agricultural sector and the
nance improves.
rush to the Wild West and forming the
and crime rate
nutritional well-being of our people. The
vision for a new homesteading program in
bill before me is faithful to our shared
goes up, more
urban America today. Because Abraham
neighborhoods 'P'
vision.
Lincoln's Homestead Act empowered
reason? Because
people, it freed people from the burden of
has a stake in $1
George Bush
poverty. It freed them to control their own
chance to make a
destinies, to create their own opportunities,
ican dream for the
The White House,
and to live the vision of the American
We want publ
Nov. 28, 1990.
dream. Likewise today, creating the oppor-
springboard for
tunity for low-income Americans to become
tomless pit for de
Note: S. 2830, approved November 28, was
property owners is a key to fighting poverty
be asked to give
assigned Public Law No. 101-624.
and offering real hope to thousands.
residents who star
1928
Administration of George Bush, 1990 / Nov. 28
Cranston-
I've said before that a cornerstone of our
longest, and we stopped doing that. Jack
rdable Housing
effort to reduce the heavy hand of govern-
made a significant change there. And
ment is this idea of empowering people, not
now-and even more so with this bill-
bureaucracies, and giving people-working
we're offering incentives to public housing
people, poor people, everyone-control
tenants who move out and move up into
much for being
over their own lives and access to property
the productive economic mainstream.
it's great to be
and jobs so that all Americans can have a
These are the people who will help us meet
I effective Secre-
life of dignity, responsibility, and economic
our goal of 1 million new homeowners by
Urban Develop-
opportunity. Secretary Kemp has long been
1992.
deserves great
a champion of this idea, and that's why I
But there's more. This bill contains Home
il to do here. And
have appointed him as Chairman of the Do-
Investment Partnerships, a new block grant
the Members of
mestic Policy Council's Economic
helpful and in-
Empowerment Task Force.
to provide incentives to States, localities,
with us today. I
The status quo of centralized bureaucracy
and nonprofit organizations to provide
people who currently rent with vouchers,
mato was to be-
is not working for the people-the ones
I want to thank,
who need affordable housing; the ones who
tenant-based assistance, and rehabilitation
11 of the Banking
want to choose the best schools for their
of existing housing, because affordable hous-
le and Congress-
kids or child care for their younger chil-
ing is in everybody's interest. And in addi-
dren; the ones who want to pull themselves
tion to housing assistance for migrant farm
for their work on
counterparts, Jake
out of dependency and into a life of self-
workers, the elderly, and the disabled, this
are not with us
sufficiency in a safe, clean, and drug-free
legislation also creates the Shelter Plus Care
icans on the com-
community. It's the people who have the
Program to assist homeless persons who are
best answers for themselves and their fami-
mentally ill, who have a drug abuse prob-
thank them for
lies, not the Government.
lem or other problems, to give them the
And that's exactly what the National Af-
support they need to keep them from re-
mayors are in
and other local
fordable Housing Act that about to sign
turning to a desolate life on the streets.
us, and I want to
here does in several ways: It puts power in
Finally, it reforms certain programs in
to House. I'm told
the hands of people. First, it authorizes a
the FHA, in the Federal Housing Adminis-
major administration initiative: Homeown-
tration, to make them more financially
over here. And,
ership and Opportunity for People Every-
sound. The National Affordable Housing
mbol of hope for
where, the HOPE Initiative. HOPE will
Act gives people the best kind of govern-
1 people, and I'm
provide new opportunities for low-income
ment assistance: It provides opportunity,
e with us today.
families to buy their own homes-urban
and it encourages responsibility without the
a story, a bit of
homesteaders, if you will-and helps the
shackles of dependency. And that is really
of the Civil War.
residents of public housing to buy their own
the American dream, for no matter where
it year, Abraham
units. Tenant management, control and, ul-
people live or how much money they have,
en in hand and
timately, ownership of public housing is an
all people yearn to control their own lives.
stead Act of 1862.
idea whose time has come. And let me just
Abraham Lincoln knew this, and his vision
res to any family
tell you why.
lives on today as the foundation for our ef-
) of it in the wil-
American dream.
When the people who live in public hous-
forts to empower all Americans.
ing are in charge, the results are remarka-
And so, it is with that in mind-the undy-
cessful endeavors
ble: more people pay their rent, mainte-
ing ideal of hope and opportunity for all-
ng the great land
nance improves, operating costs decline,
that I am pleased to sign this bill into law.
and forming the
and crime rates plummet. Employment
And once again, I want to thank each and
ding program in
goes up, more kids stay in school, and
every Member of Congress who has worked
ecause Abraham
neighborhoods spring back to life. And the
hard on this legislation, particularly the two
Act empowered
reason? Because each resident simply now
chairmen that are with us today. And of
m the burden of
has a stake in society-an equity stake-a
course, again, my respects for his leadership
control their own
chance to make a go of it, to live the Amer-
to Jack Kemp, the Secretary of HUD.
wn opportunities,
ican dream for themselves.
Thank you all for joining us today.
of the American
We want public housing to become a
And now, if I can lift it up, I'll sign it.
ating the oppor-
springboard for independence, not a bot-
[Laughter]
ricans to become
tomless pit for dependency. HUD used to
fighting poverty
be asked to give awards for public housing
Note: The President spoke at 2:05 p.m. in
ousands.
residents who stayed in public housing the
the East Room at the White House. In his
1929