A Home for Everyone
By Alphonso Jackson

From an early age I was taught the value of ownership. Growing up as the youngest of 12 children, I watched as my father worked three jobs to put a roof over our heads. He was a humble man who understood the importance of owning a home that built equity to help pay for my brothers, sisters and I to receive a good education.

Homeownership is the quintessential American Dream, and my goal as Secretary of the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development is to give more people the opportunity to become a member of what President Bush calls the "ownership society" - such as being a homeowner.

Today, more Americans are enjoying the benefits homeownership than at any time in our nation';s history. Nearly 70 percent of all American families own their homes, and minority homeownership exceeds 51 percent, also an historic high. That figure, however, points to a significant homeownership gap between non-Hispanic whites and minorities. Despite recent gains for minority households, the homeownership rate falls 20 percent below the national average. There should be no barriers to homeownership: all people, regardless of their skin color, deserve a decent place to live that they can call their own.

To close that gap, in June 2002, President Bush challenged the nation increase the number of minority homeowners by 5.5 million by the end of this decade. Since the President issued that challenge, 3.5 million minority families have joined the ranks of homeowners - putting the nation ahead of schedule to reach the President';s goal.

These new minority homeowners now have a place to call our own, where we can raise our children and give them a backyard where they can in safely play with their friends.

It also means 3.5 million more minority households are using the equity they built with their home to better finance their children';s education, to build personal wealth, and to pass on assets to future generations.
Homeownership is the single most effective means of empowerment to help minority Americans help themselves climb the ladder to family stability and financial independence.

President Bush';s $35.5 billion FY 2008 budget request for HUD continues our deep commitment to building an ownership society that helps more minority families own a home and strengthen their communities. The FY 2008 Budget funds several critical programs that advance the President';s goal of helping more minorities join the ranks of homeownership, including:

• Nearly $2 billion for the HOME Program, to fund activities that build, buy or rehabilitate affordable housing for low-income families. This represents an increase of $252 million from FY 2006, the last enacted budget.
• $50 million to continue funding the American Dream Down Payment (ADDI) initiative to help low income families overcome the barriers of high closing costs and downpayments to purchase their first homes. ADDI has helped over 21,000 families since it was created 4 years ago - half of whom are minorities.
• $50 million - an $8.4 million increase over 2006 - for housing counseling services to help families financially prepare for homeownership, avoid predatory lending practices, and help current homeowners avoid default.
• The President';s Budget request also continues our Department';s efforts to modernize the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to better reach more traditionally underserved homebuyers who often do not qualify for prime financing.

While we want more Americans to have the opportunity to become homeowners, we know that homeownership is not a viable option for all Americans. To help more families find safe, decent, affordable housing, President Bush';s proposed 2008 budget will provide:

• $21.3 billion for public housing programs, $1 billion more than the previous request;
  
  
• $16 billion for tenant-based rental assistance, including HUD';s Housing Voucher Program. This represents a nearly $582 million increase over FY 2006 levels;
  
  
• $5.8 billion in Section 8 Project-Based rental assistance, an increase of $776 million over 2006 levels;
  
  
• $575 million to fund housing programs for the elderly and disabled, which is a $30 million increase over last year';s request.

• To help more low-income families find affordable housing, the President is also proposing significant reforms to the Department';s Housing Choice Voucher Program that would help up to 180,000 more low-income families in addition to the two million households the program currently serves.

Reaching President Bush';s minority homeownership goal is an initiative I take very seriously. I am confident we will help more Americans realize the dream of homeownership, and help minorities in particular understand that the dream is achievable. To paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King: homeownership is a dream, like all dreams, that should know no racial boundaries.

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Mr. Jackson is the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.