Requested HUD budget would increase homeownership rate

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According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the national homeownership rate rose to an all-time high of 67.8 percent. In Mis-souri, 76.5 percent of all residents are homeowners. |ret||ret||tab|

Homeownership among minorities, while also rising to historic levels, continues to lag far behind the national average.|ret||ret||tab|

But according to a HUD press release, President Bush's request for $31.5 billion for the Department of Housing and Development in fiscal year 2003 would help more Missourians become homeowners, and provide additional rental as-sistance. |ret||ret||tab|

That amount also would protect vulnerable people and stimulate economic development and job growth across the country, the release stated. The president's proposal represents a $2.1 billion increase compared to HUD's initial FY 2002 budget.|ret||ret||tab|

Bush's budget proposal includes $200 million for the American Dream Down-payment Fund to continue to help more Americans reach the dream of homeownership. |ret||ret||tab|

Administered under HUD's Home Investment Partnership Program, this will help an estimated 40,000 low-in-come families a year to become first-time homeowners. |ret||ret||tab|

Since the administration recognizes homeownership is not an option for everyone, the budget also provides 34,000 new incremental housing choice vouchers to provide rental assistance to assist millions of families struggling to find an affordable place to live.|ret||ret||tab|

"We want to give every American the opportunity to become stakeholders in their community. The president's budget allows us to accomplish this, while stimulating economic development and job growth at the local level and providing a continuum of care to the homeless and others with special needs," said HUD Secretary Mel Martinez.|ret||ret||tab|

The spending plan also will include resources to combat predatory lending, prevent housing discrimination and continue reforming the home-buying pro-cess to eliminate hidden fees paid by consumers.|ret||ret||tab|

Martinez also highlighted other parts of the budget proposal in terms of how they will affect Missouri residents. |ret||ret||tab|

According to HUD, the president's budget proposal supports his commitment, as set forth in his State of the Un-ion Address, to increase homeownership among all Americans. |ret||ret||tab|

The budget will help facilitate this in many ways, some of which are outlined below: |ret||ret||tab|

The plan includes $2.1 billion for the Home Investment Partnership Program, an increase of $238 million compared to current-year funding. Grants via this program to states and localities fund a wide range of activities that build, buy and/or rehabilitate affordable housing for rent or homeownership or provide direct rental assistance to low-income people. Missouri will receive an estimated $38 million in funding from this program under the president's proposed budget.|ret||ret||tab|

The plan increases funding for the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program to $65 million, fulfilling a commitment to triple funding for HUD's sweat-equity programs. SHOP grants support nonprofit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity International.|ret||ret||tab|

The FY 2003 budget includes funding for approximately 34,000 additional incremental housing choice vouchers. This increase is nearly double the 18,000 incremental vouchers provided in FY 2002 and will help more Missouri families find affordable rental housing.|ret||ret||tab|

For FY 2003, HUD is seeking to increase Community Development Block Grant formula grants by $95 million which would bring them to $4.436 billion. Missouri would receive an estimated $86.4 million in CDBG funding under the president's FY 2003 budget. |ret||ret||tab|

President Bush is proposing to in-crease funding to HUD's homeless assistance programs to $1.13 billion in the coming fiscal year. |ret||ret||tab|

For FY 2003, HUD plans to continue support for the elderly by providing $783 million to the Section 202 Program, which supports elderly housing programs.|ret||ret||tab|

Protecting young children from the potential lifelong effects of lead poisoning also is a key focus of the budget request. The budget would significantly increase funding for dealing with lead-based and other home-health hazards taking it from $110 million this fiscal year to $126 million in FY 2003.|ret||ret||tab|

A comprehensive budget summary is available online at www.hud.gov.[[In-content Ad]]