Speaking at the annual conference of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Secretary Martinez announced that President Bush would continue his efforts to increase the production of affordable housing and combat regulatory barriers. Several elements of the upcoming Fiscal Year 2004 budget request announced by the Secretary include $113 million more for the Department's HOME Investment Partnerships Program, an additional $200 million for the American Dream Downpayment Fund, and an added $2 million to help reduce regulatory barriers to affordable housing.

"This Administration is deeply committed to providing states and local communities with the resources they need to produce affordable housing and help individuals and families become homeowners," Secretary Martinez told the homebuilders. "We want to empower first-time homebuyers, particularly minorities and low-income families, to cross the threshold into the American Dream. We also want to make sure that affordable rental opportunities exist in neighborhoods across the nation."

The proposed five-percent increase for HOME will raise the HOME budget to about $2.2 billion in FY 2004 and help more than 600 state and local communities finance the costs of land acquisition, new construction, rehabilitation and down payment assistance.

The flexible HOME Program plays a key role in addressing the shortage of affordable housing in communities nationwide. Participating jurisdictions are encouraged to partner and leverage resources with nonprofits, developers, private lenders and contractors. These partnerships have resulted in more than 750,000 affordable housing units being constructed, rehabilitated or acquired. In addition, an estimated 88,000 families have received the assistance they need to find safe, decent and affordable homes to rent.

For the second consecutive year, the President's spending plan will include $200 million for the American Dream Downpayment Fund to help approximately 40,000 low- to moderate-income families to become first time homeowners. This funding is an important part of the Administration's goal to add 5.5 million new minority homeowners by the end of the decade. A recent HUD study found that the down payment is the single greatest barrier minority families face when trying to buy their first home.

Martinez also announced that the 2004 proposed budget will place an emphasis on breaking down regulatory barriers that impede the production of affordable housing. HUD will create a new Office of Regulatory Reform, which will commit an additional $2 million next year on research efforts to learn more about the nature and extent of these regulatory obstacles. Through this office, researchers will develop the tools needed to measure and ultimately reduce the effects of excessive barriers that restrict the development of affordable housing at the local level.

Earlier this week, Secretary Martinez announced a proposal to increase HUD's Housing Counseling Grant Program to $45 million, which will help 250,000 additional individuals and families to find and maintain homes. Housing counseling is one of the most cost-effective ways to educate homebuyers on matters such as inflated appraisals, interest rates and the mortgage settlement process, and is a fundamental part of HUD's efforts to combat predatory lending.

The combined effect of these multiple funding increases will be to significantly bolster the Bush Administration's efforts to bridge the nation's "homeownership gap." Census figures indicate that while nearly three-fourths of non-Hispanic whites 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 announced a goal to add 5.5 million new minority homeowners by the end of the decade.

President Bush also announced "America's Homeownership Challenge," calling on the housing industry to help increase minority homeownership. The result was the Blueprint for the American Dream Partnership, a collaborative effort to advance the President's goal. This unprecedented public-private partnership is helping to educate homebuyers, increase the supply of affordable housing, offer down-payment assistance and provide flexible financing options that help people realize the American Dream.

View a state-by-state breakdown of the funding request for HOME and the full news release.