Hon. Michael G. Oxley: “I rise in support of H.R. 2620. I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), the chairman of the…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 2620. I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), the chairman of the subcommittee, and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan), the ranking member, for putting together an appropriations bill that balances all of the competing interests and programs, given the fiscal restraints that we are under. As the chairman of the Committee on Financial Services, the housing programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development fall under our jurisdiction. To date, the committee has held at least nine housing program and oversight hearings to explore how to make these programs models of efficiency and expand housing opportunities for everyone. What the hearings reveal is that we are facing a housing crisis. In some areas, that crisis is one of availability of housing, while in others, it is affordability, with low-income families paying more than 50 percent of their monthly income for housing. In other cases, it has been poor management of public and private resources and, indeed, our committee plans to look into that. I applaud the committee on their work. For example, the HOME program is increased by some $200 million to accommodate the President's request. This new initiative will expand the homeownership dream, particularly for low-income, first-time home buyers.”