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    "localId": "4525647",
    "label": "House Speech Cooperative Housing Bill, March 22, 1950",
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    "id": "4525647",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "House Speech Cooperative Housing Bill, March 22, 1950",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4525647",
    "collections": [
        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
        "Speeches"
    ],
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        "Legislation"
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    "seq": 1,
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    "type": "document",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642080/4525647.pdf",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D13, folder \"House Speech Cooperative\nHousing Bill, March 22, 1950\" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and\nSpeech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nSpeech by Representative Harnld Ford Jr during debate on\nCorporative Housing bill\nMarch 22, 1950\nMR. CHAIRMAN, before any member of the House votes for or\nagainst the controversial Title I of H.R.7402 I firmly believe a therough\nand complete examination should be made of the precise situation in each\nRepresentative's respective district. Although we are legislating for the\nbenefit of the nation as a whole, none of us should forget that we also\nrepresent limited geographical areas. We have a responsibility to reflect\nthe views, understand the problems and seek answers for the citizens who live\nin our own congressional districts.\nNo one denies that our nation still needs additional housing\nparticularly in certain areas where the shortage of homes is still acute.\nThe problem is how to ready the situation. Should we enset Title I, the\nCooperative Housing Act, or should we rely on a continuation of legislation\nsuch as our existing F.H.A. statute which has worked rather effectively for\na number of years.\nUnder the controversial Title I of H.R.7402 approximately 250,000\nhomes can be constructed. A new federal agency, the Cooperative Housing\nAdministration, will handle the job if Title I is approved. Interest rates\nwill be 3% and the amortization period for the mortgages will range between\nFORD i LIBRARY GERALI\nDigitized from Box D13 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nPage Two\n50 and 60 years. Down payments will be required. The group seeking to set\nup a cooperative project must buy an amount of stock in the Cooperative Hous-\ning Administration equal to 23% of the total cost of their project at the time\nthe contract for mortgage financing is signed. At the time each family is ready\nto move in it must put up another 23%. In other words, the total down payment\nis 5%. This would amount to $40 on s home costing $8,000 or $300 on a $6,000\nhome.\nWith these facts in mind, will Title I aid in solving the housing\nproblem in Kent and Oktawa Counties of Michigan, my district. The proposal\nmight be helpful in some instances but let's examine the record to see whether\nor not it might have discriminatory or harmful results. Further, will the\nco-op prevision provide a solution which is not already on the statute books.\nTitles II and VI of the previous F.H.A. legislation have proved\nextremely helpful in Kent and Ottawa Counties. I believe we can peint with\npride to the job done by our losal office in Grand Rapids. From various sources\nand efter considerable digging for the fasts, I have prepared the following\ntable. Here is the record from January 1, 1946 through December 1, 1949.\nFORD i LIBRARY\nPage Three\nType of Loan\nCommitted\nAmount\n1946-1949\nof Guaranty\nInsured\nAmount\nKENT COUNTY\nTitles II and VI\n3,670\n$23,845,000\n2,621\n$17,032,000\nSee. 203 2(b)(D)\n257\n124\nOTTAWA COUNTY\nTitles II & VI\n475\n$ 3,087,500\n340\n$ 2,205,300\nSee. 203 2(b)(D)\n10\n6\nI am particularly interested in the See. 203 2(b)(D) leans for I\nwas somewhat instrumental in initiating the use of this provision among Grand\nRapids leaning institutions. This provision provides for mortgages up to\n$6,000, at 43% with a maximum term of 30 years. The above chart indicates\n257 leans of this type are committed in Kent County and 10 in Ottawa County.\nIn other words, a person, veteran or otherwise, under this provision\ncan buy his own home with a down payment of $300 to $400 and monthly charges\nof approximately $41 including payment on principal, interest, taxes and\ninsurance. These homes must meet F.H.A. specifications. They include 2\nbedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and dinette, full basement, gas furnace,\nplastered walls, and a reasonably sised lot.\nFORD\nIn addition I would like to mention homes that are being constructed\nLIBRARY\nin a slightly higher price range. Here is the copy of an advertisement in the\nPage Four\nGrand Rapids Herald of March 19, 1950 -\n\"THIS HOME ON YOUR LOT $6,800\n\"Only Cash Required $150 for Mortgage Costs.\n2 Large Bedrooms\nSpacious Living Room\nLarge Kitchen and Dinette\nFull Basement 32'x24'\nGas Furnace and Hot Water Heater\nPlastered Walls\nNot Prefabriested.\n843 Monthly payments Includes Taxes and Insurance. All This\nOn Your Lot If Acceptable to FHA or Veterans Administration.\nPublic Water Supply Must be Available.\nNO LOT?\n\"To veterans only. Call us anyway. If you have $300 to $400 each it may\nbe possible to build this house on a lot of your one) choice. We have several\nlots available or perhaps you have a lot which you would like us to buy for\nyou.\"\nI ask in all sincerity, isn't this the kind of housing which is needed, at the\nright price and on fair terms? The local newspapers include other rather similar\nadvertisements. Another \"ad\" reads as follows: \"No down payment to a veteran.\n043 per month (including taxes and insurance).\" Here is another advertisement:\n\"Twe-bedroom, lig-stery bungelow. Room for third bedroom. Pull base-\nment 32'x24'. Gas furnace, automatic water heater. Large living\nroom, combination kitchen and dinette. Near schools. Can be\npurchased on FHA terms or GI lean.\n\"$250 down to veterans covers all mortgage costs; $56 monthly pay-\nment includes taxes and insurance.\"\nOne of the most perplexing problems to low cost home purchasers is the\ndown payment whether it be $100 or $1,000. Under a combination of Title II\nleans and GI financing homes can be financed with no down payment. I believe\nunder Title I a 5% down payment in two installments is mandatory with some very\nlimited qualification. In other words, Title I will not help the person in the\nlow income group who cannot acquire sufficient funds for the down payment. In\ncontrast, as I have said before, a combination F.N.A.-G.I. Loan will obviate the\nnecessity of a down payment.\nGERALD FORD VIBRARY\nPage Five\nThere is justification to the argument that Title I is discrim-\ninatory, particularly as regards G.I.s of World War II who have already\npurchased homes with the help of a O.I. loan guaranty. In Ottawa County\n938 G.I.S as of February 25, 1950 are now buying homes at 4% on a 20 year\nterm. In Kent County as of February 25, 1950, there are 3,085 G.I.s in the\nsame eategory. These veterans would be diseriminated against by the exetment\nof Title I. There is no 3% interest rate for them. They have no 50 to 60\nyear term for the repayment of their loan.\nI recently compiled some facts and figures on the situation in\nKent and Ottawa Counties, which should be included in the record.\nKENT COUNTY\nOTTAWA COUNTY\nW.W.I Veterans\n7,759\n1,551\nW.W.II Veterans\n29,472\n6,488\nTotal\n37,231\n8,039\nKENT COUNTY G.I. LOAN DATAAS OF FEBRUARY 25,1950\nType of Loan\nNumber of\nAmt. of guaranty\nTotal Dollar\nLoans\nand/or Insurance\nAmounts of Loans\nHome\n3,085\n$8,627,290.00\n$17,388,418.00\nFarm\n18\n43,182.00\n90,344.00\nBusiness\n137\n179,023.00\n394,054.00\nTotal\n3,240\n$8,849,495.00\n$17,672,816.00\nOTTAWA COUNTY G.I. LOAN DATA AS OF FEBRUARY 25,1950\nNumber of\nAmt. of guaranty\nTotal Dollar\nType of Loan\nLeans\nand/or Insurance\nAmounts of Loans\nHome\n938\n$2,359,920.00\n$4,748,253.00\nFarm\n6\n15,900.00\n31,800.00\nBusiness\n$\n78,257.00\n161,305.00\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\nTotal\n1,004\n$2,454,077.00\n$4,941,358.00\nPage Six\nIf the 3% rate in Title I is raised to 4% there will be no\ndiscrimination against those veterans of World War II in Kent and Ottawa\nCounties who haven't yet purchased a home with a G.I. loan but there will\nbe an overlasting bias against the 4023 who have already bought or constructed\ntheir homes. This injustice can never be corrested unless the 50 to 60 year\nloan term provision is corrected.\nThe gentlemen from Michigan, Mr. Walcott, ably showed how\nridiculous the 50 to 60 year amortisation schedule is under Title I. A\nveteran who is now 25 years old will finish paying for his home at the\nage of 75 or 85. Obvieusly this is unsound on its face.\nThe advocates of Title I claim there will be no additional\ncost to the federal government. What about the new agency with the tre-\nmendous staff that will be required to handle the \"se-op\" loan applications.\nIt will undoubtedly require at least 5000 new federal employees plus a\ndirector at $15,000 per year. The federal treasury can't stand this\nadditional burden.\nIn conclusion, I vish to emphasise my opposition to Title I\nfor the following reasons: 1) it will discriminate against G.I.s who have\nFORD is LIBRARY CERVID\nPage Seven\nalready purchased homes, s cme 4023 in my district; 2) the Administrative cost\nburdens will be excessive; the federal treasury can't afford a now federal\nagency with some 5000 additional employees; 3) existing F.H.A.-G.I. loan\npregrams can and will provide an ample supply of low cost and middle income\nhomes.\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD"
}