Making good on the Bush Administration's plans to increase minority homeownership, Secretary Martinez announced that the President would propose another increase for the Department's Housing Counseling Grant Program. The increase would more than double funding for this locally oriented program - to $45 million - since the Administration took office two years ago.

"It's not enough that we help families get housing, we must help them keep housing," said Martinez. "Housing counseling is an important part of this Administration's goal to expand homeownership opportunities, particularly for minority families who want to make their American Dream come true."

Counseling also is a fundamental part of HUD's efforts to combat predatory lending. First-time minority homebuyers are especially vulnerable to predatory lending practices. Housing counseling is one of the most cost-effective ways to educate borrowers on matters such as inflated appraisals, interest rates and the mortgage settlement process.

In addition, housing counseling grants enable homebuyers, homeowners and renters to easily get counseling to improve their housing conditions and be responsible owners and renters. By improving the quality of renter and homeowner education, families make better, more informed home purchases, improve their ability to budget for needed home expenses and make the lending process less intimidating.

Census figures indicate that while nearly 70 percent of all Americans own their own homes, less than half of African-American and Hispanic families are homeowners. In last year's State of the Union address, President Bush proposed closing this "homeownership gap" by adding 5.5 million minority homeowners by the end of the decade.

Last fall, HUD hosted the White House Conference on Minority Homeownership, highlighting solutions to the obstacles minority families face as they pursue the American Dream as well as the considerable social and economic benefits of expanding homeownership opportunities to would-be first time homeowners. Answering the President's challenge to increase homeownership, a significant number of private and nonprofit organizations from across the broad spectrum of the housing industry joined the Administration to form The Blueprint for the American Dream Partnership. One of the goals of this partnership was to educate more people about the homebuying process, which is a key role of local housing counseling agencies.